


Return to NIMH

by Highwing



Category: The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 78,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highwing/pseuds/Highwing
Summary: A strange new rat arrives at the colony in Thorn Valley ... but he is not what he appears. (A revised and expanded version of perhaps the earliest surviving "Secret of NIMH" fanfiction, first written in December 1983/January 1984)
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

The scientist clipped the final set of electrodes onto the ears of the sedated brown rat and rolled the rodent over onto its side, into what he could only guess was a comfortable position.Bending down to the box where the animal slept, he whispered, “If this works, my friend, you and I will be on the cover of every scientific journal in the country.If it doesn’t … well, you’ll never know the difference.”

The human lay down on an adjacent couch and proceeded to tape electrodes onto shaved areas of his scalp, face and neck.Once finished, he gave one last look at the rat.“Wish me luck, kid.”That said, he reached out to the machine at the center of the rat’s nest of wiring.He rested his finger on a large, red switch a moment while he said a prayer, then pushed the lever down.

And then, darkness …

* * *

The sun’s rays were only just finding their way through the laboratory’s windows when the man and woman burst into the room.Both wore the flimsy white coats identifying them as workers in the research complex.They rushed to the cot where the chief scientist lay.The man felt for a pulse, then looked up at the woman.“He’s dead.Dr. Hargraves is dead.”

“So he actually did it.”The woman’s voice was level; the full impact of her superior’s demise had yet to hit her.“And we could have stopped him.”

“There’s nothing we could have done, Lucy.”The man began peeling the electrodes off Dr. Hargraves’ head.“He would have gone through with it no matter what we - or the government - said.”

“But he gave you the letter, Harry.”

“I didn’t find it until this morning.And even after I read it, I thought it was some kind of joke.I mean, mind transference and all that … he must have been crazy to try it.”Harry stripped off the last metal disc.“By the look of it, he’s been dead since last night.”

Lucy’s attention was drawn away from the corpse by a loud, constant chattering coming from a stainless steel box on the lab table.She turned to look and found her gaze being returned by a pair of shiny black eyes peering over the side of the box.The female scientist allowed herself a chuckle.“Irony of ironies!A great man dies, but his subject lives on.”Lucy picked the rat up.“No one blames you.Now, back you go.”She started toward a row of cages against one wall, but the animal squirmed so violently that it escaped her grip, fell onto the table, and ran for the far end.By the time Lucy reached it, it had stopped among a pile of notebooks, reared up on its hind legs, and picked up a pencil with its forepaws.

Lucy snatched the pencil away from the rodent and grabbed the animal up with two hands.“Very good.You can do more tricks later. But you have to go back in your cage now.”She carried the struggling mass of fur to the confinement wall and put it in Cage 18, the only one which was empty.

“Harry?’

“Yes?”

“How could Dr. Hargraves die and the rat still be alive?”

Harry studied the machine Hargraves had devised.“I’ve no idea how this was supposed to work, but the jolt that killed him must have only gone one way.”He went to the lab door.“Come on.Let’s go phone Forbes and tell him what’s happened.”

“All right.”The two scientists left the room.

The rat in Cage 18 rattled its door at their departure.“Harry!Lucy!” it cried out after them.“You’ve got it all wrong!I’m still alive!”

* * *

Harry arrived at the lab late the next morning.He was surprised to find that Lucy was not yet in.Harry wasn’t going to wait for her; Dr. Hargraves had left behind several volumes of notes which had to be thoroughly studied to determine if any of his unfinished experiments were worth continuing.

Harry set down the files he had found in Dr. Hargraves’ office, stacking them next to those the chief scientist had been keeping in the lab.He noticed a torn piece of yellow tablet paper lying atop the stack of lab notebooks.Certain that it hadn’t been there when he locked the room up the night before, he held it up and read what was on it.

_Lucy and Harry,_

_The experiment was a success. I was able to transfer my mind to another body. Unfortunately, it seems to be a one-way bridge.I have left to search for those whom I believe may be able to help me.I can only pray that our attempts to destroy them have failed._

_Dr. Ian Hargraves,_

_ex-human_

The words were scribbled in pen and barely legible.Alongside the scientist’s name was an inky pawprint.

Harry threw down the note and ran to the cage wall. The door to Cage 18 was open.The cage itself was empty.


	2. Justin

The rat stepped out of the doorway of the clay mound and looked up to the sky. The sun shone bright, and not a cloud could be seen. It was a perfect early summer day in Thorn Valley.

Justin smoothed out his green and purple silk tunic, his paw passing over the round red stone he wore on a chain around his neck. He was not happy with this perfect day; the crops were in danger of drying out, and rain was needed soon. Walking on his hind legs - another sign of the intelligence encased within the rat’s body - Justin hastened down into the scattershot fields surrounding his home.

There he was greeted by another rat, less elegantly garbed than himself but clothed nonetheless. Justin issued a salutation. “Morning, Caesar. How’s the situation today?”

The rat Caesar shook his head. “It’s getting harder to keep all the crops properly watered, sir, spread out as they are. Our daily bucket brigades were only ever meant to supplement the regular rainfall and get us through brief dry spells, not an extended drought. Hate to say it, sir, but this is where irrigation canals could really have helped us out now.”

“Perhaps. Although, if the stream gets any lower, would irrigation canals even be of any use?”

“There is that,” Caesar admitted. “But it’s looking like we’re going to lose some of the harvest, no matter what.”

“How much?” Justin asked.

Caesar shrugged. “Too early to tell. Even if rains come tomorrow, we’ll probably still have losses. But I’d say between the drought and the other animals stealing from us, we could have a very hard winter ahead.”

Justin stroked the fur on his chin thoughtfully. “I’ll reassign some of our guards to help out with the bucket brigade. Speaking of the other animals, are they assembled?”

Caesar nodded. “A number of them came. Brutus is with them now on the North Hill.”

“Fine.” Justin swallowed nervously. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck, sir.”

“Thanks.” Justin turned and set off for the North Hill, following a path that took him around the rat colony’s surface entrance, an artificial hillock designed to look like a natural dirt mound, save for the portcullised doorway that only a close inspection might reveal. He could do nothing about the drought, but as the leader of the intelligent rats who had escaped from the laboratories of NIMH - the National Institute of Mental Health - it was his duty to act in the best interests of his species. The other animals in Thorn Valley were stealing from the rats’ food supply, so Justin had arranged for a meeting with members of the animal community to try and find a solution to the problem.

Justin arrived at the meeting site to find Brutus, Captain of the Guard for the rat colony, encircled by over a dozen surly ground animals. Brutus was an enormous rodent, with clouded eyes that made him look as if he suffered from glassy cataracts and gave him a vaguely ghostllike appearance, even if he could still see perfectly well through the sheen that hid his pupils. He now wielded a wicked-looking lance that glinted in the sunlight along with his milky eyes. At Justin’s approach, the animals broke the circle and backed away, especially eyeing the sword strapped at his waist, and the red stone he wore; they feared the leader of the mysterious rats and the strange powers he was rumored to possess.

Justin noticed with disappointment the absence of any birds in this gathering, for the winged creatures were the biggest thieves of all. “Thank you all for coming,” he began, striking the most welcoming and conciliatory tone he could manage under the circumstances. “You all know why I’ve asked you here. You’ve been taking from us, and this must stop.”

A female rabbit spoke up. “We have to eat too,” she said timidly. “I’ve got children to feed.”

“I understand.” Justin folded his forepaws behind his back, as a gesture of authority. “But Thorn Valley is a big place. There are plenty of other food sources besides our crops.”

“Every year, you spread out more and more,” a male rabbit shot back. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll drive us out of the valley entirely!”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Justin countered, turning his head to take in the vast expanses of unspoiled nature that surrounded them on all sides. “We grow only what we need, and our cultivated areas represent but a tiny parcel of all the land in this valley.”

“What about us?” cried a young field mouse. “Maybe the rabbits and the squirrels and the chipmunks can travel across the valley for food, but we can’t get ten paces from our burrows without being eaten by some predator or other. Your food is our only choice.”

“Then allow me to offer a compromise,” Justin proposed. “If you all agree - and get your fellow creatures to agree as well - to stop raiding our crops, we will see about sharing some of our harvest with you, to ensure that no one goes hungry.”

The other animals regarded him with leery suspicion. “How would that even work?” demanded a skeptical chipmunk. “You’re complaining that we’re taking too much from you, and now you say you’ll just give us food?”

“The less you steal from us, the more we’ll have to share,” Justin explained. “It’s simple logic. We’d only have to expand our growing area by a small amount to make up for the shortfall. It should work.”

A squirrel scowled. “Sounds to me like an excuse to grab up even more of the valley for yourselves. And what about the acorns? You’ve been scrounging up so many of those that there are hardly any left for us!”

“Your complaints are justified,” Justin replied, “but my first responsibility is to my own rats. You’ve heard my offer, and I genuinely believe we can make it work - but only if we all cooperate. Bring me a promise from all the animals of the valley that our crops will be left alone, and I in turn will put before our Council a motion to share our bounty with you. Deliver me your answer tomorrow morning. I’ll be waiting at the colony gate.”

“What if the answer is ’no?’” asked the male rabbit.

“Then,” Justin replied sternly, “we will use whatever means necessary to protect our crops, and that includes ordering my guards to kill thieves on site. We have held off on such drastic measures for the sake of peace, but the current drought may leave us no choice.” He paused to let his words sink in. “I’ll await your answer.”

The circle of stunned animals parted to let Justin pass. Brutus, lance held at the ready, followed, casting caustic glances at the woodland creatures. Once they were well away from the murmuring crowd, the hulking rat asked, “Think they’ll accept your proposal, sir?”

“I pray they do,” Justin sighed. “I’ve no taste for blood.”

“It’s their blood or our starvation, if you don’t mind my sayin’, and I got no hesitation about which I’d choose.”

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” As they neared the clay entry mound to the colony, a commotion from the fringes of the cultivated areas caught their eye. “Oh, what now?” Justin wondered. then stiffened at the sight of red fur flashing along the ground farther up the eastern valley slope. His paw went to the hilt of the sword at his side, while Brutus hefted his lance, moving closer to protect his leader.

“Fox,” the big guard grunted in warning, cold caution in that one word.

“I see it.” Some of the tension ran out of Justin’s muscles as he studied the scene. “Looks like our guards succeeded in scaring it away. Probably going after our grape patches again … “ 

Brutus lowered his gaze from the fleeing fox to a pair of uniformed guard rats struggling toward the colony through the haphazard stalks of corn and wheat. “But what’s this now?”

The two sentries struggled right up to where Justin and Brutus stood, dragging between them a third rat. They laid the unconscious rodent on the ground at Justin’s feet.

“Sir,” said one, gasping for breath, “we found this rat being chased by a fox. We were only barely able to save him.”

Justin studied the rat on the ground. It wore no clothes, and looked to be fairly old, with visible streaks of gray showing in its brown pelt. Obviously, it was a wild rat. “Why,” he asked the guards, “did you save him and bring him here? You know you’re not supposed to interfere with … “

“You don’t understand, sir,” the other guard interrupted. “Before he passed out, he told us he’s one of us.”

“Huh?”

“He said he’s from NIMH.”


	3. The Newcomer

The mysterious stranger was borne into the colony and put to bed in a spare room. Justin was at his side when he awoke some time later.

The newcomer glanced uneasily about the chamber, disoriented by recent events and the painkillers that had been administered to him. Then his gaze settled on the elegantly-dressed rat leader seated at his bedside. Justin had removed his sword so as to appear less threatening, although the ever-present red stone still hung at his neck, embellishing his regal look.

“Greetings,” Justin said with a friendly smile, “and welcome to the colony.” The gray-streaked rat regarded him with uncertainty. “I know you must be tired,” Justin continued, “especially if you really do come from where you claim, but now that you’re awake, I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“You … you’re from NIMH?” the older rat stammered.

Justin nodded. “Yes. We all are, here. And you?”

“Yes. I escaped … seems like years ago.”

“Ah! That’s mainly what I wanted to ask about.” Justin leaned forward on his bedside stool. “First, I’d feel a lot better if I knew your name.”

“Uh … Ian. My name’s Ian.”

“I’m Justin, President of the colony.”

“This is the colony?” Justin nodded. The rat named Ian looked about the room again, and his eyes fixed upon the glowing wires that illuminated the chamber. “You’ve got electricity!”

Justin picked up on the amazement in Ian’s voice. “Yes,” he said proudly. “And running water as well. But tell me … “

“How many of you are there?” Ian interrupted.

Justin gave a light laugh. “For someone who’s still getting over a near-fatal run-in with a fox, you certainly are full of questions! But since you asked, there are about three hundred of us. Two hundred and eighty-seven, to be precise, but we’re growing all the time.”

Ian fell back on his pillow and breathed deeply. “So you weren’t all exterminated after all.”

“Heavens, no! Not that we didn’t come close. But … how did you find us?”

“Everyone at NIMH knew about you,” Ian explained. “Once I escaped, I struck out for your last suspected location. That farm beyond the mountain.”

“The Fitzgibbon’s place?” asked Justin.

“Yeah … I guess that was it. Anyway, when I got there, I asked around about you, and … well, I ran into a very interesting mouse. An acquaintance of yours, I believe.”

Justin straightened, several possibilities occurring to him. “Oh?”

“Does the name Mr. Ages ring any bells?”

Justin smiled again. “If he told you half of what he knows about us, you don’t even need to ask, do you? How is that old grump doing? We’ve not had any chance to speak with him in, well, ages.”

“He told me enough. And ‘old grump’ seems to describe him quite well. I guess I won over his confidence in the end, although I had to draw him into a discussion of recombinant DNA and gene splicing before he’d believe I was who I said I was. He also told me to tell you that the Frisbees are doing fine too, whatever that means.”

Justin chuckled. “I think you mean ‘Brisby’s,’ and that is welcome news indeed. We do miss a lot of what goes on in the wider world, stuck down in this valley as we are.”

“Ah. In any event, he finally trusted me sufficiently to point me in this direction, and, well, here I am.”

“Barely,” Justin added. “That fox nearly had you for lunch. Our guards got to you in the nick of time. Were you traveling alone?”

“Yes, I was.”

“What happened to the others?”

“Others?” Ian’s face was blank.

“Yes - the other rats. Surely you didn’t escape by yourself?”

“Well … actually, I did.”

Justin leaned closer. “And made it here, all the way from NIMH, on your own?”

“That’s how it happened,” affirmed Ian.

Justin settled back on the stool, nearly tipping it over. “Amazing,” he murmured.

The door to the room opened inward and another male rat entered, wearing a pocketed apron over his sleeves-rolled-up work shirt and carrying with him a clay vessel filled with steaming water. “Ah, the patient’s awake! Justin, I hope you’re not pestering him too much?”

“Just finishing,” Justin said. “Ian, this is Barnes. He’s our colony doctor. Barnes, this is Ian. He’s one of us.”

“Is that so?” Barnes set the bowl down on a stand beside the bed and posed in a challenging tone, “E equals MC squared.”

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Justin. I just want to see if that term means anything to our new friend.”

“Einstein’s equation for relativity.” Ian spoke without batting an eyelid. “It states that matter and energy are interchangeable, at least to some degree.”

Barnes looked on approvingly. “You’re right, Justin. He is one of us. No rat from around here would know that.”

“Of course I was right. And it just so happens that Ian was directed here by none other than Mr. Ages himself, whose price for his assistance was an in-depth dialogue on advanced genetics. Ian’s already proven his authenticity to me.”

Ian eyed Barnes. “You remind me a little of that mouse. You certainly share the same taste in work aprons.”

Justin guffawed at this, while Barnes scowled at this joke at his expense. “Be that as it may, I need to finish treating his wounds. You can interrogate him more later.”

Justin threw up his forepaws. “I was only asking him a few questions!”

“Call it what you like, but Ian won’t be able to rest with you running off at the mouth, and right now you’re distracting me. So if you don’t mind - ” Barnes took Justin by the arm and led him to the door, “ - please leave us, and I’ll let you know when you can see him again.”

“I think you’re forgetting who’s President here,” Justin playfully admonished.

“Doctor trumps President in medical matters. Now shoo!”

“Okay, okay!” Justin started out, but paused at the threshold. “Barnes, let me just ask Ian one more thing before I go. It’s very important.”

“Oh … go ahead, then.”

Justin moved to the foot of the bed. “Ian, can you tell me if you know whether or not the humans are still searching for us?”

“As far as I know,” Ian replied, “and I’m almost certain of this, the humans gave you all up for dead four years ago.”

“Then why did you come here?”

“Because,” said Ian, “you were my only hope.”

“Oh.” Justin went to the door. “Barnes, when do you think he’ll be up and on his feet?”

“Day after tomorrow, maybe. If you stop badgering him.”

Justin took the hint. “All right, all right. I’ll check on you again later, Ian. Rest easy.”

After Justin was gone, Barnes rolled Ian onto his side and examined the gashes on his back. “Your wounds don’t seem too serious, but they’ll hurt like the devil once the painkiller I gave you earlier wears off. If that fox had been an inch closer, you wouldn’t be here now.” The doctor held a hot compress against the injury, the poultice fragrant with medicinal herbs. For some time the two were silent; then Barnes spoke again.

“You’re the talk of the colony, you know that? Everybody wants to see you and meet you. You’re the first contact we’ve had from the world of humans in years.”

“Yes, I guess I am. In more ways than one.”

“Your coming here is an event. Why, Justin has even announced a banquet in your honor to be held as soon as you’re well enough to attend.”

“A banquet?”

“Yep.” Barnes removed the compress and dressed the wounds with bandages from his voluminous apron pockets. “We haven’t had much to celebrate around here recently - not since Justin’s wedding back at the start of summer. Now that was a shindig! If anything, your arrival will raise a few spirits. Well, I’m all done with you.” Barnes stood and turned to go. “Rest up. You’re got a feast waiting for you.”

The lights dimmed, and Ian was alone. He pulled the bedcovers close about him, moving gingerly out of respect for his wounds, and nestled down into the soft sheets. He was starting to feel at home for the first time in weeks, and it felt good.


	4. The Banquet

The banquet was held two days later. Ian was up and about by this time, but had stayed to his room, as per doctor’s orders. As Barnes had predicted, the wounds were still giving Ian some pain, but with a fresh shirt covering his bandages, the newcomer now made his way to the main hall with some assistance from the rat physician.

On the way to the feast, Ian glanced about the corridors he was led through, wonder in his eye as he took in the tile floors and smooth brick walls and arched ceiling supports. “This is incredible. I feel like I’m in a medieval castle.”

“Renaissance,” Barnes curtly corrected. “We’re a bit beyond the medieval, as you may have noticed from our electrical fixtures, and the running water in your room. Our chief architect Arthur has always been a big fan of Renaissance architecture, and was directly influenced by any number of European structures when it came to designing certain parts of our colony. He can get downright baroque, if we don’t rein in his tendencies to stray beyond what’s practical.”

“He’s been to Europe?”

“Of course not. He just reads a lot. We all read a lot.”

“Ah. Where did you get all the stone for this? It looks very … substantial.”

“Oh, it is. You can’t even see how far into the superstructure those arches extend. Incredibly sturdy; we could probably withstand a major earthquake, and almost any other catastrophe thrown our way. As for the stone itself, we have our own quarry operation, set in the base of the eastern valley ridge. The caves there are where we stored a lot of the equipment and materials when we were getting ready to move out here from the rosebush. There was even talk of locating the colony itself there, but in the end we decided it was too far from any reliable water source. Water is crucial to our colony, and drives much of it.”

“I see. Just how far down are we?”

“Oh, about seven or eight feet,” replied Barnes. “This is the lowest of the living levels. Storage and suchforth is below us. The main hall is just a little ways ahead. You’ll see when we get there that we may have indulged Arthur a tad too far when he was doodling up that chamber, but it is where we hold all our feasts and balls and Council meetings, so I suppose we could allow ourselves that one touch of ostentatious elegance in the midst of all our more utilitarian construction. I do think we should use the service entrance, though. Otherwise, you’ll be mobbed.”

“Everybody’s still that excited about me?”

“Darn right,” Barnes said. “They’re dying to meet you. Don’t plan on doing much eating today - you’ll be too busy answering questions to get a bite in edgewise. Ah, here we are.” They stopped before a stone archway, through which came glimpses of bustling activity and snatches of many voices and frenetic kitchen sounds. “You might have to dodge a bit to get through here; our culinary staff keep themselves especially busy on feast days. Just try not to upset any of the entrees or appetizers … or the desserts. Especially not the desserts.” Barnes showed Ian through the portal, and the recuperating rat found himself being escorted past stoves and ovens and counters and over a dozen frenzied cooks and helpers, all of whom paused to stare at Ian’s impromptu arrival, causing a sudden silence to descend upon the scene.

“Back to work, ladies,” Barnes chortled, even though two or three of the kitchen staff that Ian could see were males. “You can gawk at him later.”

After this first encounter with such group scrutiny, Ian was glad to leave the kitchen, but one glance at the hundreds of rats waiting for him in the main hall made him wish he were back in his room.

Ian and Barnes had stepped out of the kitchens onto a raised platform at the front of the main hall, and this grand chamber was every bit as splendid as Barnes had led Ian to believe, with a polished marble floor that shone like a mirror and frescoed walls depicting scenes from the rats’ history and a soaring vaulted domed ceiling that looked like genuine mother of pearl. Chandeliers hung around the circumference of the dome, twinkling with myriad tiny electric bulbs. Many long tables filled the space, each crowded with curious onlookers, including any number of families with juvenile rats of all ages. Ian felt his skin crawl upon having so many eyes fixed upon him. Justin had said the colony numbered nearly three hundred, and Ian felt sure every one of them was either seated before him now or behind him toiling in the kitchens.

Another long table stood upon the platform. Seated at it were a number of finely-appointed rats, Justin among them. The colony’s President rose and motioned for him to approach. “Welcome, Ian. I trust you’re feeling better?”

“I’m … fine. But I wasn’t expecting all this.”

“Yes,” Justin admitted, sounding almost chagrined, “we may have gone a bit overboard, but then, you’re the first excuse we’ve had in quite some time to pull out all the stops like this.”

“The second, actually,” corrected a female whose place was beside Justin’s at the table. “Or are you forgetting our wedding at the start of this summer, my dearest absent-minded husband?”

Justin grinned. “Ah, Ian, may I present my wife, Isabella.”

The female stood, spreading her splendid yellow gown and giving a deep curtsey. Ian started to return a bow, but the pain in his back forced him to straighten up again. “A pleasure, my lady,” was all Ian could think of to say.

“The pleasure is mine.” Isabella returned to her seat. Justin showed Ian to an empty place on his other side. Ian still wore only the simple shirt he’d first been given, and felt out of place among all the fancy dress, including Justin’s, which consisted of magnificent ceremonial robes over his brightly-colored tunic, along with the red stone amulet he always seemed to wear.

Justin indicated the others at the table and said to Ian, “I don’t want to bother you with names at this time, but suffice to say, these are the members of the Council - the decision-makers of the colony.”

“Hello.” Ian addressed the entire group as best he could with that one word.

Justin stepped to the edge of the stage and held up his arms for everyone’s attention, and in the ensuing silence addressed all the rats in the hall. “Friends, this feast is held in honor of an extraordinary individual, whose arrival in Thorn Valley is a great event in our history. Ever since our escape from NIMH ten years ago, we have assumed that we were alone in the world, forever set apart from other rats by the intelligence and long lifespans that our human captors’ experiments left us with. Now we know differently. There are more like us elsewhere, and one of them has reached us to let us know that there is still hope for our kind beyond this valley. We are alone no more!”

Wild applause broke out. Justin waited for the noise to die down, then continued, “The Council met last evening, and our decision to make Ian a permanent member of the colony was unanimous.” More applause followed, together with calls for a speech from Ian.

“Do you feel up to it?” Justin asked him.

“I guess so.” Ian joined Justin at the stage’s edge. When the cheers stopped, he said, “I’m not very good at speeches, so I won’t give you one. Let me just say that I’m … well, I’m in awe of all you have accomplished here, and I’ll certainly contribute what I can to this society.”

Ian found his way to his seat, leaving Justin to call out, “Enough talking! Let this banquet begin!”

The food was brought in, plateful after plateful of it to each and every table. Ian couldn’t believe his eyes at the display; there were several types of soup, each more savory than the next, as well as fish, lavish salads, and steaming muffins and bread loaves, along with nuts and sweets. It was all topped off by goblets of a mild red berry wine, or unfermented juices for the younger attendees.

The feast went on and on. Ian answered questions from the Council as he ate, mostly about his journey from NIMH. “Is it true,” asked one, “that you used fire to defend yourself from larger animals?”

“Yes,” Ian replied, and told a story of how he found a half-full cigarette lighter and made it a weapon against predators. He told more stories, and still the questions kept coming. The colony architect Arthur grilled Ian about the NIMH building, and all the others he’d passed during his travels, extracting details about structure and style that Ian felt ill-equipped to answer. At first the Council rats seemed so struck by the novelty of Ian’s presence that they went lightly on him, but as the evening wore on, their inquiries - especially about NIMH - became more pointed and probing.

One in particular, a shrewd-looking rat in red by the name of Rogan, seemed to be trying to corner Ian. “Tell us again, friend, just how did you manage to escape?”

“I … lifted the cage door latch and let myself out. It was as simple as that.”

“Truly? I’d have thought Dr. Schultz would have learned his lesson after the first time.”

“Schultz?”

“Yes. The human scientist who headed the experiments that made us the way we are. You do know of him, don’t you?”

“Yes, I … know of him. It was through him that I learned of your existence, and your last known location. But I never worked with him directly.”

Justin showed surprise at this, along with many of his dining companions. “So, they have other scientists involved in this project as well? Who was yours?”

Ian hesitated, as if debating how much to say. “Hargraves. Mine was a scientist named Hargraves.”

“And how many of us was Dr. Hargraves working on?” Rogan pressed. “How many rats this time?”

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Ian answered. “I never saw any others. Not like me. He … must have been keeping us in isolation from each other.”

“Well, that’s a new twist,” said Justin. “Maybe Schultz did learn something after all.”

“Maybe ... " Rogan pursed his lips, running a paw over them as he studied Ian. “Even so, I still find it incredible that you escaped so easily. Unbelievable, even.”

“Rogan, don’t be rude,” Isabella admonished the blunt Council rat. “Ian will tell us the full story in good time, I’m sure, and our esteemed historian Webster will get it all down in writing when he does. Tonight is supposed to be a celebration, not an interrogation, so let’s not go spoiling any appetites or stirring up indigestion, shall we?”

Rogan relented upon being called out so openly, but still sat regarding Ian with something less than full trust.

“Speaking of appetites,” Justin observed, regarding Ian’s plate, “I see you’ve barely picked at your dinner. Not a finicky eater, are we?”

“Not at all. I filled up on soups and bread more than I should have. The trout was excellent, and I did at least get to sample a little bit of everything. Then again, Barnes did warn me that I’d probably be too busy talking to get much eating in. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen our good doctor anywhere about during these festivities. Where is he?”

“Sadly, he had other matters to attend to. Pity, but that’s the lot of a doctor’s profession for you. Now, before we get to the desserts, one last bit of business I must address here myself … “

Justin stood to address everyone in the hall, again raising his arms to call for silence. “My friends, I have one more piece of news before we wind things down here for the evening. Yesterday, after a series of negotiations with the other animals of the valley, and in consultation with our Council, an agreement has been reached for them to stop raiding our crops. In exchange, we will allot a portion of our harvest for their use.”

This news stunned many in the audience. “But we need all our crops for our own use!” one cried out.

“We were already suffering losses we were hard-pressed to prevent,” Justin maintained. “And I was loathe to resort to lethal means to put a halt to the pilfering. This way, we foster cooperation with the local animals, sowing seeds of trust we may someday reap in other ways, and lose no more than we would be losing anyway. I’ve given this matter much thought, and this truly is the best solution.”

Nothing else was said, but there was proof enough in the faces of the crowd that Justin’s latest decision had not gone over well with many in the colony.

In the midst of the desserts being brought out, Barnes appeared through the kitchen with a downcast look on his face and approached Justin. Leaning in close between him and Isabella, Barnes whispered something in the rat President’s ear, eliciting an aggrieved expression from Justin as well. Justin stood and removed his ornamental robes, slinging them over the back of his chair. “I’m sorry, Ian, but you’ll have to excuse me for the rest of this evening. Sadly, I must discharge one of the less enviable duties of the Presidency. I’ll see you again in the morning. Barnes will escort you back to your room, when you’re ready.”

Sensing that a pall of some sort had been cast over the proceedings, and not wanting to keep Barnes waiting on him, Ian soon made his own farewells and allowed the doctor to lead him out of the meeting hall.

“What was all that about?” Ian asked Barnes once they were back out in the corridor by themselves. “I was surprised not to see you at the banquet.”

“I was with a patient.” Barnes replied, eyes on the floor. “He didn’t make it.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, well, so am I. Justin left to be with the family. He’s very good about such things.” They arrived at Ian’s room, and Barnes saw him to bed. “I’d advise you to get plenty of sleep tonight. Tomorrow, you become a full member of the colony.”


	5. The Colony Below

Early the next morning, one of the colony guards appeared at Ian’s door to show him to Justin’s quarters. The rat President resided on the same level but on the opposite side of the main hall, so it took quite a bit of walking to reach their destination. Once there, the guard left Ian alone with Justin.

The leader of the rats lived more comfortably than most of his kind. Justin and Isabella’s chamber was hung with ornate tapestries that sectioned the place off into three rooms, including a bathroom with a hot tub big enough to swim in. Most of the stone floor was covered with animal-skin rugs of a dark color, and all the furniture was of finely-crafted wood, the chairs with plush cushions. Ian noticed a human-built radio set back into one wall.

“Good morning, Ian,” Justin greeted him. “How are you feeling?”

“Better all the time. That feast yesterday gave me some much-needed energy. By the way, was it my imagination, or did your final speech end on a bit of a down note?”

“Oh, that.” Justin shrugged it off. “Some of my fellow rats were just a little bent out of shape over the idea of sharing what we work so hard to produce. I keep trying to tell them that it’s being stolen anyway, in spite of all our best efforts to curtail the thievery, and that generosity will gain us in ways that violence won’t. They just don’t want to listen.”

“They’ll have to listen now.”

“Yes, well … “ Justin rubbed his forepaws along the front of his tunic. “Sometimes compromises are necessary.”

Ian glanced around the chamber. “Where’s the queen, if I may ask?”

This drew a chuckle from Justin. “My queen? Ian, I’m President, not King. And Isabella’s just my wife … although listening to myself say that, she’d probably brain me for making such a dismissive statement. But to answer your question, she’s an early riser, in keeping with her own duties.”

“Duties?”

“Yes. Perhaps we’ll pay her a visit later; she might like that. And on that very subject, that’s what I called you here for: to discuss your own future with the colony. I don’t mean to sound stern, but we work hard here, and we can’t have any freeloaders. Uh, those are the Council’s words, not mine. What I’m trying to say is, you’re most welcome to stay with us here, but we have to find something for you to do.”

“I suppose so,” Ian acknowledged.

“Everybody has to work,” Justin continued, “and there’s the problem. It simply wouldn’t do to send an honored guest like yourself out to work in the fields, but unless you’ve acquired some specialized knowledge or skill that we can use, I may have to do just that.”

“You could always make me a guard,” Ian suggested.

“I could, and I might. But even then you’d spend most of your time in the fields, helping to keep birds away from the crops. I had higher hopes for you.”

“So did I. If we can get off this subject a moment, I understand there was a death in the colony yesterday.”

“Yes, there was,” Justin affirmed. “A young boy. I see Barnes told you.”

“I didn’t think it proper to ask a doctor about a patient he had just lost. I assume that was what took you away from the banquet yourself? I could tell that the news Barnes delivered had pained you, and you left rather abruptly … ”

“Yes, I went to see to that personally. I sat with the family until well past midnight, consoling them. I try to offer what little support and comfort that I can at such times. Deaths here are rare, although not rare enough for my liking. We’ll be holding the funeral and burial later today. You’re welcome to attend if you like.”

“I … I’m not sure how appropriate that would be, since I didn’t know the family at all.”

“You wouldn’t need to say anything. Most of us won’t. It’s customary just to be there as a show of respect. And as the newest member of the colony, your presence in particular would mean a lot.”

“Then I’ll certainly consider it. Could you tell me what the boy died from?”

“It was a stomach virus. We call it Simmons’ Disease, after the first one of us to die from it. Barnes could tell you anything about it you want to know - except how to cure it.” Justin sighed, fingering the red stone pendant hanging from his neck. “It only afflicts two or three of us each year, but it’s always fatal. It’s most discouraging, especially for Barnes. He feels so helpless.”

“I can imagine. Justin, before I’m assigned a place in the colony, I would like very much to see the rest of it.”

“Of course! How thoughless of me!” Justin went to the door and motioned for Ian to follow. “I’ll show you around myself - if you’re feeling up to it.”

“Oh, I feel fine, but I wouldn’t want to take up your time like that. You surely have more important things to see to.”

Justin waved a forepaw. “Never you mind. I’m quite proud of all we’ve done here, and I welcome any chance to show it off. Now, come along.”

Justin decided to start the tour on the colony’s lowest level. To get there, he and Ian walked … and walked … and walked some more, never leaving the central corridor, which followed a gradual curve. It took Ian some time to notice what should have been obvious. “We’re going down, aren’t we?”

“Yes, the slope is gentle, and easy to miss unless you’re paying attention. This main concourse follows a spiral pattern right through the heart of the colony, with all the residential apartments branching off from these middle levels. We also have some side staircases here and there for anyone looking to ascend from one level to another without having to go all the way around. Arthur kicked around many different designs for the colony as a whole, but considering the site we chose, he settled on this as the one that made the most sense.”

“Ah, Arthur. He really does get caught up in his architecture, doesn’t he? I’m sorry I couldn’t answer more of his questions last night, but architecture isn’t really my strong suit.”

“Then what is?” Justin prompted, as if he’d been waiting for such an opening.

Ian held his silence for some moments. “I guess that’s what you and I still have to figure out, isn’t it?”

“Hm. Well, don’t worry too much about Arthur; I think you told him quite enough. In fact, he gathers from what you said that you must have escaped from a different part of NIMH than we did. An entirely different building, perhaps.”

“Maybe,” Ian responded noncommittally. “I was really in no position to tell.”

“Perhaps not,” Justin responded in an equally neutral tone.

“What of that Council member in his padded red tunic? He seemed to be taking especial interest in me.”

“We’re all taking an especial interest in you, Ian, in case you hadn’t noticed. But you speak of Rogan. Don’t mind him; he delights in playing the contrarian.”

“What’s his place in the colony?”

“Well, before he landed his seat on the Council, he was our agricultural chief, overseeing all the crops and plantings, and he was actually very good at it. Nowadays, his top assistant Caesar handles most of the physical work out in the fields, although Rogan still takes Caesar’s reports and consults on any matters concerning our crops.”

“But mostly he just sits on the Council?” Ian surmised. “Sounds to me like he’s stepped up, and stepped aside, leaving the grunt work to others.”

Justin gave an amused snort. “I wouldn’t tell him that, if I were you, but you’re probably right. He’d call it entirely justified, of course. An esteemed member of our Council couldn’t possibly go out and get their paws dirty with menial manual labor, could they?”

“Do any of them?”

“Arthur does. That rat might spend half his life living in his head dreaming up new things to build, but he can also be very paws-on when it comes to getting them built. A few of the others are like that too. With a population of fewer than three hundred, everyone has to pull their weight. Well, almost everyone.”

Ian mulled this over, then deadpanned, “So, how do I get a seat on the Council?”

“Ha! I will say this about you, Ian: if nothing else, you do know how to make me laugh!”

The aspect of the branching side corridors began to change, taking on a starker, sparer appearance, and Ian guessed they were descending past the living levels to more utilitarian areas of the colony. One wide, dark, low-ceiling chamber caught his eye, and he asked about it.

“Silkworm farm,” Justin answered. “We’ve had that since before we moved to Thorn Valley from the farm, and trust me, those little buggers were not easy to get. Had to send one of our procurement teams all the way out of state to rustle those up.” He patted at the fine fabric covering his breast. “But the effort has paid off, and handsomely, too.”

“But your garments aren’t all silk? I saw lots of simpler clothing at the feast last night.”

“No, most are cotton and wool and some synthetics too, all cut from fabric stocks we brought with us from the rosebush. It won’t last forever, and sooner or later we’ll have to start planting some cotton crops of our own, but for now we have plenty to tide us over for the foreseeable future. A single human bolt of fabric can clothe entire families of rats, after all. And speaking of that … “

A short way beyond the silkworm farm, one opposite corridor wall opened out onto a vast factory-style workspace of sorts that seemed to take up the entire central area of the colony. Within toiled at least two dozen rats, mostly female, sewing and cutting garments or laundering them in side tubs of steaming sudsy water. Stacked into alcoves along every wall were piles of fabrics of every texture and color imaginable, a veritable fashion designer’s warehouse of raw material.

All work came to a halt as Justin led Ian through the chamber. The rat President easily ignored all the eyes on them as he played tour guide, waving to one matronly rat who stood out from the rest. “Don’t mind us, Evelyn, just passing through!” Addressing Ian once more, he continued, “We’re directly beneath the main hall where we held last night’s banquet. If you ever get a chance to examine Arthur’s master blueprints in our archives, you’ll see that the colony actually follows a very compact plan, with common rooms like this occupying a central column of sorts, and the residential wings extending out from them. A very good design, if you ask me - and as Arthur will readily attest as well. But for now we’ll cut through here to something I trust you’ll find far more interesting than needle and thread and laundry water!”

“I’m a little surprised you’ve got so much room dedicated to your clothing needs. I’d have thought those would be more … minimal.”

“Most of the colony works very hard, day in and day out. Clothes get dirty, wear out and need to be mended or replaced, not to mention washed. Sheets and blankets, too. And our families are growing all the time. Hand-me-downs only go so far, which means new clothes need to be produced on a regular basis. In fact, if our population grows much larger, we’ll probably have to add staff down here.”

“When did you start wearing clothes?” Ian inquired.

“Oh, we threw together our first few vests and cloaks during our Wandering Years. We learned very early on that a hood was most useful for keeping the rain out of the eyes when we had to be out in inclement weather. And once we settled on the farm, we were able to establish more permanent garment shops, allowing personal tastes in fashion to become an actual thing. Clothing may not be essential like food and water and shelter, but we’ve grown quite accustomed to it, and hold it up as a symbol of all we’re trying to accomplish here.”

“Your own civilized society?”

“Exactly.” They passed out of the clothing and laundering area to descend a long ramp to an even lower level, through a high stone archway. “Ah, here we are! The heart of the colony, in some ways. Behold one of our greatest accomplishments!”

Before them spread out what could only be called a boiler room, of gigantic proportions in rat terms. The boiler itself was a huge metal tank with pipes and shafts running all around it, and a constantly-fed wood-burning furnace below it. A crew of male rats stood watch over the machine to keep it working properly.

“This is our main source of power,” Justin stated with obvious pride. “Water pumped from the stream is heated to become steam, which turns turbines to give us electricity. That’s also how we get our hot water.”

Ian was impressed. “But where did you get the parts for it? It looks more … advanced than anything else I’ve seen so far.”

“A year or so after we started the colony,” Justin explained, “a small airplane crashed farther up the valley. Both humans in it were killed. We were terrified that others would come to investigate the accident and we would be discovered, but they never did. Some rangers came and took away the bodies, but the wreck was just left there in the forest. So, we took from it what we could use. As far as I know, the rest of it is still there, rusting away. That was the only time in the past four years that humans have come to Thorn Valley.”

“Quite a story.” Ian looked the boiler over. “But, wouldn’t it have been wiser to put it on the surface? As it is now, if a fire breaks out, it could burn right up through the rest of the colony.”

“True, but in the winter we use the heat rising from the furnace to keep the upper levels warm. We couldn’t do that if the boiler were on the surface. Besides - ” Justin pointed to a nozzle on the ceiling, “ - if a fire does break out, we’ve got a sprinkler system to extinguish it.”

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“I’d like to think we have,” Justin nodded. “We even branched the chimney so that the smoke isn’t too noticeable on the surface. We don’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves than we have to. Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the level.”

Justin led Ian through corridors that ran past more giant open doors, as tall as three rats and twice as wide. “Food storage,” Justin said. “Grain and corn on the left, fruits and vegetables on the right, and nuts all around, wherever we can find room for them.”

“Well … you certainly won’t be going hungry in the near future.”

“I don’t expect to.”

Ian paused to study an array of sliding beads on rods affixed to the wall alongside one of the storage bays. “Abacus?”

“Inventory counter, actually, although we did steal the idea from the abacus and modified it a bit. One thing we’re painfully short on here is paper - blank paper, at any rate. Back in the rosebush, it sometimes seemed we were wallowing in the stuff, and even had a crude process for producing our own. But I’m afraid that didn’t translate well in our move out to Thorn Valley, and all we have left is what we brought with us. We had so much else we needed to do that the challenges of establishing a paper mill - cutting down the trees, pulping the wood, all the processing - just kept getting put off. It’s something we really hope to get to someday soon, but for now, we have to conserve what little we have for important purposes, and routine inventories wouldn’t fall into that category.” Justin gave a chuckle. “Of course, a few of my more cynical cohorts claim it’s just a ploy on my part to avoid drowning in paperwork.”

“Is it?”

“I’ll never tell. Come along, come along … “

They passed beneath an archway into into another spacious low-ceilinged chamber similar to the fabric shops, but even more expansive. Ian could see various rats toying with equally various items ranging from electrical wiring to convoluted plumbing fixtures. “These are the workshops. I find them especially fascinating. Anytime anyone gets an idea for a useful invention, they can come down here in their spare time and spell out their ideas to our engineers. Or, if they prefer, they can work on it themselves. Let me see if Hugo’s here. He’s our only full-time all-purpose inventor; some of us refer to him as ‘Mr. Everything.’”

Justin called out, and a black-furred head popped up from behind a workbench. “Ah, Justin!” Hugo displayed a smile of gleaming white fangs. “What brings you down here?”

“I’m showing Ian around the colony. Do you have anything interesting to share with us today?”

Hugo shook his head. “Not really. I was just working on the lances.” Hugo hobbled over to them with one of the weapons, Ian noticing for the first time that the colony’s “Mr. Everything” was a hunchbacked rat. Hugo held the lance up for inspection.

“This craftsmanship is extraordinary,” Ian murmured, and reached out to feel the polished blade.

“Don’t touch it!” Justin warned.

It was too late. As Ian’s fingers came into contact with the metal, a jabbing pain ran down his arm, making his entire body tingle and turn numb. He fell back a few steps and shook his head to clear it.

“I should have told you,” Justin apologized. “These weapons are electrified.”

Hugo laughed as if the whole thing were funny, while other workers in the shop paused in their efforts to look up at this interruption in their labors. “Lucky for you, the charge was low. Otherwise, you’d be flat on your back right now.”

Shaking off the temporary effects of the numbing shock, Ian studied the device more closely. “How does it work?”

“The charge is carried in here … ” Hugo ran a forepaw along the handle. “It’s insulated, except for the blade. That’s so our somewhat less-than-bright guards don’t electrocute themselves.”

“You’ll pardon me if I don’t share your assessment of the colony guards, since I’d be some fox’s forgotten meal right now if not for them. Hmm … a very good design, but it could be improved upon.”

Hugo drew the lance away. “Who asked your opinion?”

“Uh, we don’t want to take up any more of your time,” Justin cut in, leading Ian away by the arm. “Keep up the good work, Hugo.”

The hunchbacked rat only grunted as they left, while the others in the workshop returned their attention to their projects.

Justin took Ian back up another ramp to the living levels, noticing the older rat’s lagging pace. “Still feeling the effects from that shock, or am I wearing you out?” Justin asked with concern.

“A bit of both, I think. This is the most I’ve been on my feet since I got here.”

“Then let’s see if we can cut the rest a bit short. Are you up for climbing a few flights of stairs? That will take us past most of the living levels without having to ascend along the main concourse, and save us quite a few steps in the long run. There’s not much to see there anyway, and I’ve got another particular destination in mind.”

“By all means, lead the way.”


	6. The Colony Above

Ian found himself following Justin up a spiral stone staircase that once again reminded him of something from a medieval fortress. After a story or two they emerged out into another corridor virtually indistinguishable from the one they’d just left - which made sense, Ian reminded himself, since it was all one continuous passage, twisting upward through the colony from bottom to top.

“You’ve been in the main hall already, but when there aren’t any meetings or banquets being held, the hall serves another purpose. However, before we head in there, I’ve someplace else to show you.”

Across the corridor from the grand hall was a much smaller entryway, almost quaint and out-of-the-way by comparison. A short flight of steps led up into that room, the first time Ian could remember seeing any chamber in the colony set off from the central concourse by its own set of stairs. And upon ascending them, he found himself in perhaps the most marvelous room he’d yet seen in this wondrous rat community.

The circular room was a library; it could be nothing else, not with the floor-to-ceiling shelves filling every inch of the walls, and every shelf packed with tomes and volumes all perfectly scaled to rats’ paws. The space was by no means vast - indeed, it almost seemed cozy, with its soft chairs and couches and carved tables - and yet the amount of knowledge contained in all those books could only be vast indeed.

Ian couldn’t help himself; he fell back into one of those deeply-cushioned chairs, staring up at the wealth of reading material surrounding him. “Is this … what is this?”

“The fruit of many years of exacting labor,” Justin answered. “When we lived on the farm, we sent out scribe teams to the local library and bookstore - after hours, of course - and transposed the complete text of any number of human books. From classic literature to technical manuals to textbooks on just about every subject … and yes, you’ll even see some works by our own authors sharing that shelf space. When I spoke downstairs of rationing our remaining paper reserves for more important purposes, this is what I was referring to. For all our technical accomplishments, this space is in many ways the soul of our home.”

A bespectacled rat in a woolen waistcoat came over to them. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Ian, allow me to introduce Webster, our colony’s historian. You’ll find more than a few of his own scribblings up on these walls. He’s chronicled our triumphs and tragedies since before our move to Thorn Valley, taking over as librarian from Isabella.” Justin lowered his voice. “I’ve been keeping him away from you for your own sake, because once he gets you talking, he won’t let you stop! He’ll want to know all about your own experiences at NIMH and your journey here, and trust me, he’ll write down every word of it!”

Webster’s eyes went wide as he realized just which rat Justin had delivered to him. “Why, why, hello there! I’ve been so wanting to meet you! So very very much, yes! I would have made your acquaintance at the banquet last night, but I’m not on the Council, and I do suspect our esteemed President here took pains to seat me as far away from the main dais as he could! But now that I have you here, I wonder if maybe ... "

“Ian’s having the full tour of the colony,” Justin cut Webster off, “and he’s only in here to peek at the library and get off his feet for a moment. We’ll be moving along shortly. But don’t worry, you’ll get your time alone with him. I promise.”

“Oh ... " 

Webster seemed crestfallen, but quickly revived when Ian asked, “Could I see some of your books?”

“Oh, certainly, certainly! Just a moment, and I’ll fetch some!” As the fussy historian bustled away, Justin leaned in close to Ian and joked, “You owe me one.”

Webster returned forthwith, bearing three hastily-selected volumes and presenting them to Ian with no small amount of pride. Expecting to see Shakespeare or Einstein or Plato or Descartes, Ian realized Webster had chosen three of his own journals, detailing the NIMH rats’ history. “Um, this isn’t exactly what I … uh … “ Seeing the look of eager anticipation on Webster’s face, Ian quickly amended, “These are fine. Perfect, even.” He flipped through the pages, struck by the quality of the binding and the neat pawscript. “Impressive. Very impressive. When I have more time, I’ll want to read through these in great detail. But for now … “

They left Webster in the company of his countless volumes shortly thereafter, descending the short flight of steps and crossing the corridor to the banquet hall. Entering through the main doorway, Ian was surprised by what he saw. The electric lighting had been turned up to nearly daylight levels, making the large space seem as bright and cheery as if full sunlight flooded into it, and the feast tables from the night before had been moved into bunches around the chamber’s walls. At each table a class was in progress, with instructors standing at blackboards while dozens of young rats looked on attentively, or else studied open books before them or scrawled away at personal-sized slate tablets with sticks of chalk.

“We have to teach our youngsters all we can,” said Justin, “so the hall doubles as our school.” Justin went to one of the “classrooms,” and Ian realized that the teacher there was none other than Isabella. Justin gave his wife a peck on the cheek. Her students giggled as they looked up from their books and tablets.

“What are you doing here?’ she asked.

“Showing Ian the sights.” Justin turned to Ian. “Isabella’s the best speller in the colony. We teach every child to read and write.”

Ian glanced around the hall. “How is school run?”

“As you can see,” said Isabella, “there are six groups, and each group is a different grade level. Each table is a different subject, taught by the instructor best qualified for it. Throughout the day the students rotate through all the tables, spending an hour on each subject, the lessons tailored to their ages and advancements. That way, they learn a little of everything all the time.”

“Isabella helped develop that system,” Justin beamed proudly, “and oversees all the other teachers. Headmistress, I guess you could call her.” He turned to his wife. “You’ll be amused to hear that Ian referred to you as my ‘queen’ this morning.”

Isabella laughed and blushed at the same time. “He didn’t!”

“He most definitely did.” By this time, every head in the hall was turned toward Ian, and the teachers had given up trying for the children’s attention. “But for now, I think we’re disrupting the classes,” Justin observed. “We’d best be off.” He gave Isabella another kiss, which made her blush further, and then he and Ian left for the next part of the tour, climbing the spiral side stairs for another two or three levels and emerging at a much higher part of the colony.

No residences branched off from this corridor, and Ian could tell from the movement of the air that they must be very close to the surface. “Now you’ll see where I spend a lot of my own time,” said Justin, “especially when I want to burn off some fat or release some tension.”

The room they entered was large and round and perfectly clear for much of its central space, with polished wood floors that surprised Ian, since they were the first he’d seen that weren’t stone or tile. Padded mats lay scattered about atop the glossy maple planks, along with crude cloth and straw mannequins in various states of disrepair which could only be target dummies. Set along the encircling walls were more weapons than Ian ever thought he would see in one place: simple medieval-type blades alternated with far more modern arms of a piece with Hugo’s electric lance, and there were ranged weapons too, long bows and crossbows and others Ian couldn’t immediately identify, and shields and pieces of body armor, all perfectly scaled to rat sizes.

“Drilling room and armory,” Justin said, going over to one rack of blades and selecting a sword for himself. Without any prelude, he went into a frenetic flurry of thrusts and parries and slashes against an imaginary adversary, spinning across the smooth floor with the expertise of seasoned practice. When he finished with a flourish, holding the blade up to his snout in a mock salute, he wasn’t even out of breath.

“Uh, remind me never to get on your bad side,” Ian said, eliciting a smile from his companion.

“I used to be Captain of the Guard before I became President.” Justin tapped his sword’s tip against the wood surface under his paws. “Right now we’re directly above the main hall, and directly below the colony entrance. In fact, if you drilled through the floor here - no easy feat, given the thickness of the stone under these varnished boards - you’d break right through the ceiling dome of where Isabella’s teaching right now, and where we held our feast last night. We figured it made sense to place our armory on the top level, since any crisis or emergency requiring substantial force of arms would likely come from outside the colony, and our guards could arm themselves here before rushing out to meet the threat.”

Ian glanced around the empty room, which he and Justin had all to themselves. “If this is their drilling and practice room, where are they all now?”

“Out in the fields, mostly. We need our full complement on rotation to guard the crops.”

“In spite of the agreement you reached with the animals of the valley?”

“That only holds with the ground animals. Not the birds.” Justin strode over to the weapons rack and replaced the sword in its bracket. “Shall we go out and see how they’re faring?”

One final upward ramp carried them to the surface entry dome, and here Ian saw that solid stone gave way to a cruder, simpler clay construction, culminating in an open gateway with raised portcullis. They stepped through it and out into the sun.

Outside, Justin was disappointed to see another brilliant, cloudless day, and cursed under his breath. Ian caught it. “What’s the matter?”

“We need rain,” Justin said, “and badly. We’ve already lost some of the harvest to this drought. If only we could know when it might break.”

”Have you thought about setting up a weather station? It looked to me like you might have enough parts for one down in the workshops.”

“Funny you should say that. It just so happens that we do … but they’re all human-sized instruments, brought with us from the farm. And they’re not down in the workshops, but out in the storage caves we established under the east valley ridge before starting work on the colony proper. We’ve meant for years to get them set up, but we’ve never figured out how to do that without calling too much attention to ourselves. We’ve already got so much camouflaged technology attached to the colony, and we don’t want to push our luck.”

“Then why not just go ahead and set them up anyway?” Ian suggested. “Just do it far from the colony itself. Sure, it would be inconvenient having to send someone out to take the readings, but at least you’d have your weather station.”

“It would still be another bit of disguised technology that would risk discovery.”

“I wasn’t even talking about disguising it.”

Justin looked at Ian. “What do you mean?”

“Set it up as a human weather station. This is a state park. If a park ranger discovers it, they’ll assume it was established by some other branch of the government. And if some other government agency should happen upon it, they’ll assume it’s a state park installation. One thing I’ve … gathered, from what I know about humans and their government, is that one department often doesn’t know what the other is doing. I think you’d be safe.”

“Hmm. Something to consider, I suppose. I’ll broach the subject at our next Council meeting.”

Standing beside the entrance to the colony, Ian gazed out at the territory surrounding the clay entry mound. “You know,” Ian remarked, “when I first looked down over this valley from the east ridge, I couldn’t see any sign of civilization at all. I knew this colony had to be down here somewhere, but damned if I could spot any giveaway. And, maybe I’m missing something now, because I’ve heard you talk of your fields of crops, but I still can’t see it.”

“All part of the Plan,” Justin said with a sly smile. “Let me take you around to the North Hill; you’ll get a better view from there.”

Ian regarded the big clay mound as they rounded it. “I must say, you certainly didn’t make this part of the colony something that would catch anyone’s eye. You’d never guess so many wonders lie beneath it. But it can’t be the only way in and out of the colony, can it?.”

“Of course not. We also have our escape tunnels.”

“Escape tunnels? You didn’t show me those.”

“They’re down on the boiler room level. We refer to them as the ‘auxiliary tunnels’ in normal times, but they would quickly become our lifelines in case of an emergency. One lets out by the stream - we rats are very good swimmers, as you know - and the other comes out farther up toward the east valley wall. We’ve tried to envision every contingency and prepare accordingly, hoping we’ll never have to use any of these measures. That’s why it’s imperative that humans never discover us.”

Ian said nothing to this.

A short time later they stood on the North Hill, several yards from the colony entrance, where just a few days earlier Justin had negotiated with the valley’s animals. Now Ian gazed around him, and still looked puzzled. “I … can see some corn stalks … and some wheat too, but … “

“But they’re just individual, isolated plants,” Justin prompted, “and not in any order?”

“Exactly.”

“All by design. Any regular rows or geometric plantings would be waving a huge red flag that we’re here, so we avoided that at all costs, interspersing our food crops in with the natural vegetation. And since a single ear of corn or stalk of wheat can feed many more rats than it could humans, we don’t have to cultivate the sheer amounts human farmers would. One downside is that such scattered crops can’t be easily irrigated, but since irrigation canals would also call too much attention to themselves, it all works out. Now, if any human were to get this close and examine our crops, they’d immediately see that each one has been carefully tended, and that would give up the game. But our measures are meant not to attract attention from a distance, and hopefully keep any humans from seeing anything which would make them curious enough to come investigating.”

Ian nodded. “It still doesn’t seem like the yield would be enough to support the colony. Especially when it comes to the grain.”

“Fortunately, Thorn Valley offers a bounty all its own. You may have noticed an abundance of oaks and maples on your way down here?”

“Actually, I was rather busy being chased by a fox right about then.”

“Ah, yes. Well, we have no shortage of oak trees, which means a nearly endless supply of acorns to harvest, which can be milled and ground for meal, or roasted and enjoyed in their nut form. And we tap the maples for syrup. Anything you taste from our kitchens which has sweetness to it likely gets that flavor from maple syrup. We’ve kicked around the idea of adding sugar beets to our crops to supplement the syrup, since they’d be easier to grow and process than sugar cane, but if we do, that will have to wait for another day.”

“What about high fructose corn syrup from the corn?”

Justin made a face. “We want our kids to be well-rounded, not round.”

“Okay, then what about honey?”

Justin sighed. “We’ve talked about starting an apiary for that, and for the wax as well. It would be dangerous, working around so many bees; a stinging episode that would only be a painful inconvenience for a human could prove debilitating or fatal for one of us. But as with the paper mill and weather station, it’s something that will have to wait for someday.”

Ian gazed out toward the stream, and the natural dam that spanned its width from bank to bank. “I see you have beavers nearby?”

“One would think that, wouldn’t they? But no, those are our waterworks. Underneath all those sticks and twigs are a row of waterwheels, linked in series, to pump water down throughout the colony - the boiler, the individual apartments, the kitchens, even some water-driven fans to help circulate the air, although we’ve never gotten those to work as efficiently as we’d like, so it does get a little stuffy down there sometimes, especially in summer and winter. Trouble is, if the stream gets much lower from this drought, the wheels won’t turn.”

“And if that happens?”

“Then merely stuffy might turn downright suffocating, and our taps might go dry, and then it wouldn’t be just our crops which would need a bucket brigade.”

Now that Ian scanned this loose conglomeration of fields, he could see masses of rats spread throughout the surrounding terrain, some dressed in the uniforms of the colony guards and others in works clothes, and many of the latter were indeed engaged in hauling loaded buckets to the various corn and wheat stalks and other plants in cultivation. An untrained eye might miss them, but now that he knew to look for them …

“We do have backup pumps for such contingencies,” Justin went on, “but they’d have to be worked manually day and night just to keep our boiler fed and our power on, so that’s not a measure we’d want to resort to unless we absolutely have to.”

“What about when there’s not a drought, but just the opposite? Aren’t you concerned situating the colony so close to the stream? What if there’s a flood?”

Justin pointed to the stream bank closest to the colony. “We’ve constructed a berm system to hold off and divert high waters - again, nothing that wouldn’t look natural except under close scrutiny - and so far it’s worked. We’ve had some pretty heavy rainfalls in the four years we’ve been here, and so far the stream has never burst its banks.”

“What about if you get hit with a tropical storm or hurricane, that drops ten or twenty inches of rain over this region?”

“Then we probably would get water in the colony - but we’ve prepared for that as well. The downward spiral design would funnel all the water right down to the lowest level, where Arthur has built a special catch basin cistern that drains directly into the valley’s aquifer. The residents would just ride out the worst of the storm in their apartments, which have special seals around the doors to keep the water out. The boiler and electrical systems are all raised to keep them above any standing water that accumulates, and you’ll recall our library is also set up with its own short flight of stairs to protect it from flooding. We’ve taken all reasonable precautions in this area … although ideally, they’ll never have to be put to the test.”

“It seems you have. You’ve impressed me about a dozen times over with everything you’ve shown me, and I get the feeling there’s still a lot I have yet to see.”

“That may well be the case, but I think we’ve squeezed in enough for one day. So, now that you’ve seen the colony from top to bottom - or bottom to top, as the case may be - do you have any ideas on what job you’d like to have?”

“Yes,” Ian nodded, “I know precisely what I’d like to do. I want to be Barnes’ assistant.”

This assured pronouncement caught Justin rather off guard, especially since the medical facilities had been one feature not covered by their tour. “But he already has a female apprentice.”

“This colony should have more than two doctors,” Ian countered.

“Umm … do you know anything at all about medicine?”

“I picked up a little at NIMH. And I’m willing to learn whatever Barnes has to teach me.”

Justin stroked his whiskers. “I must say, this was not what I expected. I’ll have to talk to Barnes. It’s up to him.”

“I really think that’s how I could best serve the colony.”

Justin clapped his forepaws together. “In that case, if you don’t mind a little more walking, let’s go see what Barnes has to say about this.”


	7. A Little History

Barnes was at first reluctant to take Ian on as a second apprentice, but he finally agreed. In the weeks that followed, however, Ian proved himself a worthy student, learning the skills of medicine quickly and even catching some of his teacher’s mistakes. Barnes didn’t take his new apprentice’s criticism very well, but always ended up following Ian’s advice, for Ian was always right.

There was no proper doctor’s office in the colony, only one small tiled surgical bay for handling the most serious of injuries and illnesses. The sick and injured typically came to Barnes’ chamber for treatment or, if they were bedridden, Barnes went to see them. This required Ian to be at his teacher’s side at all times, and he found himself called upon at all hours of the day and night, often roused from a deep sleep to help attend to one of Barnes’ patients.

Ian got on quite well with Barnes’ other apprentice, a young dark-furred female named Patricia who happened to be Hugo’s daughter. She had been studying medicine for a little more than a year, and Barnes expressed optimism that she would soon be practicing on her own.

Ian spent most of his free time reading about the colony’s past, and working with Webster the librarian to get his own story laid down in writing. Ian borrowed Webster’s logs and read them whenever he could.

One day while he was in his chamber reading, Ian received a visit from Justin. Ian invited the President of the rats in and offered him something to eat.

“Thank you, but no,” Justin said, easing himself into a chair. “It’s been a while since we last talked, so I just thought I’d drop by to see if you’re happy here.”

“Happy?” Ian sat at his desk. “I certainly don’t have anything to complain about.” Ian had been given permanent quarters of his own next to Patricia’s, more comfortably furnished than the rather spartan spare room he’d initially been assigned. He’d also been presented with a small wardrobe of suitable clothes once his measurements had been taken, and he was allowed all the food he wanted from the kitchens and pantries. “I’m quite satisfied with everything. In fact, I’m a little surprised your individual apartments are so fully furnished.”

Justin nodded. “As you may have gleaned from your perusals of Webster’s journals, that was one point of debate when we were planning out the colony. Some among us argued for larger common areas and shared dormitories, for the sake of simplifying the construction layout, and there was even talk of a large cafeteria where all our meals would be taken. But the truth is we’d grown too accustomed to privacy during our time on the farm, and so we kept to the idea of personal quarters for each family, even though that meant the extra work of running electricity and plumbing to each apartment. So much of our daily lives centers around group efforts and community activities, we felt some concession to family was important too, and this provides it.”

“Make sense. And I will admit, I do prefer having my own room, for exactly those reasons - although with all the hours Webster’s been spending here with me, I almost do feel like I’ve got a roommate!”

Justin chuckled. “I do hope that historian of ours isn’t bothering you too much?”

“Not so much that I haven’t been able to read through most of his journals. Really fascinating stuff. Absolutely fascinating.”

“Really? Most of us consider his memoirs to be rather dry and meandering, but to a newcomer such as yourself, I suppose I can see the novelty. Um, please don’t tell him I said that.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.” Justin paused. “Ian, I’ve been talking to Barnes, and though he may not have admitted it to you, he’s very impressed with your progress. As a matter of fact, he thinks you’re nearly ready to become a doctor yourself.”

Ian smiled at a joke that only he understood. “I think I would like that very much.”

“How have you liked working with him? He has a reputation for being a bit … crusty at times.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. And I do find his medical knowledge quite impressive, given the limitations of what he has to work with here. I was especially taken with his chart of all the blood types and cross-matches for every rat in the colony, so that suitable donors could be found quickly in case a transfusion is needed.”

“Yes,” said Justin, “that’s a bit of a necessity, since we lack the refrigeration to store any type of blood reserves. Fortunately, we’ve seldom experienced emergencies requiring transfusions; let’s hope it stays that way. I’ve also been hearing good things about your own bedside manner. Any number of rats have told me they find your sense of humor rather … irreverent, not to mention self-deprecating. Which hardly surprises me at all, considering some of our own conversations.”

Ian smirked. “If you can’t laugh at yourself, you probably shouldn’t be laughing at anything. And humor’s a good way to put patients at ease, I find.”

“Yes, I can see that - and maybe Barnes can learn a thing or two from you in that regard. Just one thing, though: he thinks you should be tested for eyeglasses.”

Ian sat up in surprise. “Why? There’s nothing wrong with my vision.”

“Maybe not that you realize, but that’s often the case. The truth is - and this is something any number of us have noticed - you do have a tendency to be a bit … how shall I say this? Clumsy.”

“Clumsy?”

“Dropping things, knocking things over, unsure on your feet sometimes … Don’t deny it, Ian. I’ve seen it myself. These are all signs of poor vision. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; many of our rats wear glasses, and it improves their lives immeasurably.”

Ian seemed about to argue, then relented. “I’ll take an eye exam if you want, but I’m not sure it will yield the results you expect.”

Justin looked at him curiously. “Oh? Why is that?”

Ian hesitated before replying. “Tell you what. I’ll take the eye exam, and then we can discuss the results afterwards. Maybe I’m simply wrong, and too close to the problem to see it for myself - if you’ll pardon the unintentional pun. Maybe I do need glasses.”

This grudging acceptance of the situation satisfied Justin. “That’s the spirit!”

“If I do need glasses,” Ian went on, “can they be a pair of mirrored sunglasses? Maybe aviators? I hear they’re all the rage these days.”

“Um … I’m not sure what materials our optician Marcus has to work with, but you can certainly mention it to him.” Justin regarded Ian, and a suspicious smile twitched on his lips. “Or are you pulling my leg? With your droll sense of humor, sometimes it’s hard for me to tell.”

Ian smiled in return. “You caught me.”

“Thought so.”

“Although, mirrored sunglasses would be really cool.”

“Ian ... "

“You’re right. Not much need for sunglasses down here in the colony.”

“That’s the sensible doctor-in-training I know. Now, another thing. As a member of this colony, you are of course encouraged to mate and raise a family.”

“Mate?”

“Naturally. Oh, you may be a bit on the old side, but I’m sure you’ll find a female whose fancy you’ll strike. You and Patricia seem to be getting along fine, by all accounts, but there are plenty of other eligible candidates in the colony, if you’d like to set your sights wider. Uh, by the way, I’ve never asked, but .. well, exactly how old are you?”

Ian sidestepped the question. “Older than I look,” he said.

“Oh.” Justin gazed at him a moment. “I know this sounds silly, but you seem older now than when you first came here.”

“I am,” said Ian. “Several weeks older.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. Perhaps I’m just showing my gray a bit more these days, between Barnes running me ragged with the irregular hours of my internship, and Webster picking my brain whenever Barnes isn’t.”

“If this is a sensitive subject for you, I apologize, although I don’t know why it would be. No one else in the colony is the least bit bashful about their age.”

“You forget, I just came from NIMH a short time ago. My time as a rat - as a free rat, I mean - is rather limited. In that sense, I’m not really sure how old I truly am.”

“Well, how old were you when you were captured and taken to NIMH? And how much time did you spend there?”

“It’s … all rather a blur, Justin. I’m not even sure how to answer that.” Ian tapped at the journal he’d been reading. “Take your own Nicodemus. Some of these entries describe him as almost wizened and ancient, but I can’t imagine any of you like that. I thought the NIMH treatments were supposed to slow the aging process, and restore strength and vigor.”

“Nicodemus was a special case. What he lacked in physical strength and youthful sprightliness, he more than made up for in other areas.”

“So I’ve been reading.”

Justin twisted his head around for a better look at the the borrowed volume. “Which one is that?”

“One of Webster’s earliest, from before the colony was started. The Rosebush Days.”

Justin shook his head. “Those were some dark times. Everything we had we stole from the humans, and there was fighting among us.”

“Tell me more about it.”

“After we escaped from NIMH,” Justin began, “we eventually settled down on the Fitzgibbon’s farm and made our colony there. We spent several years under that rosebush, taking food and electricity and whatever else we could get our paws on from the farm. Rats had always lived off humans, so we thought we could continue to do so, the way we did before we were taken to NIMH.

“But Nicodemus realized that we could never again live as normal rats, so he proposed that we move to Thorn Valley and start a colony which wasn’t dependent upon man’s accomplishments. We were to start our own civilization, apart from that of the humans.

“Well, there were those among us who thought the plan was doomed to fail, and wanted to stay on the farm. Chief among those was Jenner, who not only wanted to stay, but was in favor of open conflict with the humans. He was consumed by a lust for power, and finally murdered Nicodemus. He would have done me in as well, since I was in favor of the Thorn Valley plan, but he was killed by one of his own plotters. The same night that all this happened, we left for the valley, after learning from Mrs. Brisby that men from NIMH were coming to the farm to look for us the next day.”

“Ah yes - the Brisby’s. I was rather startled to read about Jonathan, and his family. Back at NIMH, so much emphasis was always put on the rats who’d escaped, the mice were hardly ever mentioned. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was assumed they’d not be able to survive outside the labs as easily as the rats.”

“That was very nearly the case,” Justin said with a nod. “All but two perished in the ventilation ducts before we’d even made it out of the NIMH building. And who knows how Jonathan and Mr. Ages would have fared without our help?”

“Intriguing. I knew from meeting Ages on the farm before coming here that at least one NIMH mouse had escaped and survived, and lucky for me that he did, because I never would have found the colony otherwise. But he never mentioned the Brisby’s at all.”

“Well, with Jonathan dead, and his widow recently deceased as well, I can see why Ages wouldn’t have wanted to bring their children into this. We were just glad to hear they were doing well … although their fates do remain an occasional topic of discussion for us.”

“Yes, I gather from these journals that Jonathan’s children are believed to have inherited many of his advanced traits, even though he married a normal field mouse. So the NIMH mice are into their second generation as well, it seems.”

“And probably safer than we are,” Justin added, “at least as far as discovery by humans goes. They can blend right in with the other animals in a way that we can’t. Plus, they have Ages there to help them out. That’s one reason we haven’t sent for them to come live with us here. I also suspect that whole business with Jenner may have left a bad taste in their mouths.”

“And Jenner’s body was never found?”

“No,” said Justin, “it sank into the mud. We were too busy to look for it - not that we wanted to.”

“So you became leader of the rats.”

“President, yes. After we got here, we held an election. I won.”

“I see.” Ian flipped the pages of Webster’s journal. “I’ve noticed you always wear that pendant around your neck.”

“Yes. It’s the symbol of the Presidency.” Justin held it up; it was a red stone, so brilliant that light seemed to shine from within it, set in a gold cup and strung on a fine gold chain. “This belonged to Nicodemus, or perhaps it would be more proper to say it was in his possession. I’m not certain where he got it from. The Stone has special powers.”

“Yes, I’ve read about what Mrs. Brisby did with it on the night of your escape from the rosebush, but I’m not sure if I believe that.” Justin gave Ian a very critical look. “I mean no disrespect to your own beliefs, or what you thought you saw, but … well, come on, now. Magical powers? I thought you prided yourselves on your scientific and technical achievements, not on superstitions and fairy tales.”

“I might have shared your skepticism, once. But I’ve seen what it can do. I’ve seen its powers unleashed. I’ve even unleashed them myself on one or two occasions.”

Ian raised his eyebrows. “Care to demonstrate?”

“It doesn’t work that way. These forces are nothing to take frivolously. Or to be used for parlor tricks.”

This answer did little to placate Ian. “Well, what of Nicodemus himself? You all seem to revere him as some kind of wise old wizard.”

“He was certainly wise; most of the Plan that led to this colony sprang from his own imagination and intellect. And it’s true that he could command the powers of the Stone far more thoroughly than anyone else. In terms of knowledge and foresight, he stood unmatched.”

“And yet all his foresight and eldritch powers couldn’t save him from being crushed under a pile of wreckage.”

Justin’s manner turned from reservedly critical to outright frosty, letting Ian know he’d gone too far. “Was that supposed to be another one of your jokes, Ian? If so, I don’t find it funny. At all.”

“Uh, sorry ... "

“Nicodemus was like a father to me. Magical powers or not, he was the greatest person I’ve ever had the privilege to know. And if you’re going to fit in around here, you’d best learn not to go around saying things like that.”

“I … I’m sorry, Justin. That was out of line. I meant no offense, and I sincerely apologize for giving any.”

Seeing the look of genuine contrition on Ian’s face, Justin relented, if only a little. “I’ll see myself out. But before I do, one of the reasons I stopped by was to invite you to dinner tomorrow night in my chambers, with Isabella. We thought it would be a good way to get to know each other a little better, and that it was long overdue. We look forward to seeing you there … but only if you make sure not to bring any tactless and insensitive comments along with you. I’ll see you then.”

Justin slammed the door behind him on his way out, leaving Ian with his head in his paws over just how big an idiot he could be sometimes.


	8. Dinner with the President

Ian got to find out more about Justin’s “magic stone” the very next evening, along with a minor demonstration of its power.

He spent his day in the typical manner, working alongside Barnes and Patricia on medical matters and reading more of Webster’s journals in his spare time, although the historian himself proved elusive, failing to show up for his now-usual interview sessions to write down all of Ian’s own accounts. Perhaps Webster felt he’d heard all of Ian’s story that was worth recording, but Ian suspected with a sinking feeling that something else was afoot.

His brief glimpses of Justin throughout the course of the day did little to allay his qualms, the rat President acting cooler and more aloof toward him than usual. Ian wondered whether his dinner invitation might have been revoked, but since he received no definite cancellation, he showed up at Justin and Isabella’s quarters at the appointed time.

Isabella greeted him cordially and invited him in, giving no hint of anything amiss and showing him directly to the table where appetizers already awaited - along with Justin, who sat opposite Ian’s place wearing the most neutral of neutral expressions.

“Good evening, Ian.”

“Hello, Justin. Thanks for having me.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ian froze halfway toward taking his seat, realizing that something wasn’t quite the way it should be. It had struck him immediately upon entering the chambers, but only now did it fully register, so nervous had he been about seeing Justin again after their strained parting of their previous meeting.

Soft music filled the air, wafting through the apartment like a distant dream.

“Is something wrong, Ian?” Isabella asked, noticing his hesitation.

“Uh, no. Not really.” Ian finished taking his seat, his gaze going to the radio built into the back wall. “I wasn’t expecting music. But, how are you managing that? Down in this valley, you shouldn’t be able to pick up anything. The mountains around us would block out every station.”

“Is that so?” Justin looked like the proverbial cat who’d swallowed the canary, tapping idly at the red Stone around his neck … and only then did Ian realize the jewel was most definitely admitting a faint glow. If it hadn’t been for the lowered lighting in the chamber, he might have missed it altogether.

“Still think it’s silly magic?” Justin prompted in a tone of amused challenge.

“You mean … ?”

Justin moved his paw away from the amulet; immediately the glow from the heart of the Stone dimmed, and the music from the radio faded along with it into indistinct static.

Ian sat unsure what to say.

“I generally don’t use the Stone for frivolous matters,” Justin said, “but music is one thing I truly do miss, so sometimes Isabella and I indulge ourselves. Sadly, we’ll be having our dinner in silence, since it would be too hard to concentrate on the Stone and hold a conversation at the same time.”

Ian gave a nod. “Well, I did ask for a demonstration … ”

“Happy to have accommodated you.”

Ian leaned forward to study the amulet while Isabella padded over to the radio to switch it off. “That surely wasn’t made by humans. Where did it come from?”

“As I told you yesterday, I don’t know. I believe Nicodemus may have found it in the forest between here and the Fitzgibbon’s farm.”

“Hmm … Justin, just how powerful is this stone?”

“You’ve read the accounts in Webster’s journals.”

“Yes, but it’s one thing to use it as a tuning crystal or signal booster, and quite another to levitate a cinder block up out of deep mud, or to kill a bear … “

Isabella rolled her eyes as she took her seat alongside her husband. “Oh, please, not the bear story. It will ruin my appetite.”

“I had no choice in that case,” Justin said, almost defensively. “It was trying to dig up the entire colony, and partly collapsed our entry dome. I tried to send it away, but I’d never before used the Stone to that degree, and couldn’t fully control its power. I didn’t mean to kill that bear. It just … happened.”

Ian glanced at the bearskin rugs on the apartment floor, remembering many similar ones he’d seen throughout the colony. “At least you got some nice floor coverings out of that incident.”

Justin threw up his paws. “See?! This is what I mean about your inappropriate humor, Ian! That was a rather traumatic experience for me. It’s not in my nature to take a life, not even the life of an enemy. But once the bear was dead, we all decided not to let its death go to waste. We stripped off and dried all the meat from it that we could, then cut up and cured the pelt for rugs.”

“Justin dear,” Isabella pointedly reminded him. “Appetite.”

“And it all had to be done out in the open,” Justin went on, “since the carcass was way too big to bring down into the colony. All the animals of the valley saw what we were doing. Is it any wonder so many of them view us with suspicion?”

“Well, isn’t this a cheery conversation?” Isabella passed Ian a bowl of salad greens and mixed nuts. “Help yourself. Salad dressings are in the bottles right there, and soup will be out shortly. So, just what did go on between the two of you yesterday?”

Ian tensed, worried that this matter might be brought up. But before he could offer any explanation of his own, worded in such as way as to downplay the situation, Justin blurted out, “He made a rather crass joke about Nicodemus getting crushed to death.”

Isabella’s eyes widened, although Ian couldn’t tell if she was being genuine or melodramatic. “You didn’t!”

“It was not so much a joke as an ironic observation,” Ian hastened to defend himself, “and one I will readily admit was in poor taste and crossed the line, and for which I immediately apologized, and will do so again.” He looked to the rat President. “I truly am sorry, Justin. I spoke out of turn and idiotically. It won’t happen again.”

“Hm. Why do I tend to doubt that?” Justin seemed to take restrained delight in letting Ian hang for a few anxious moments, then smiled. “Apology accepted. Now let’s eat.”

Ian doused his helping of salad with a light vinaigrette, choosing a bottle at random. “I do appreciate this invitation, especially if it helps clear the air between us. I’m sure a private dinner with the President of the colony isn’t something most of the rats here can claim.”

“Actually,” Justin said with a grin, “they all can.”

Ian’s forkful of nutty leafage paused halfway to his mouth. “Oh?”

“It’s a regular routine of ours,” Isabella explained. “On most nights, Justin picks a family of the colony to dine with. Small families or single rats get invited here, and we go dine with larger families in their own quarters.”

“I find it helps me stay on top of everything that’s happening,” Justin picked up from his wife. “After all, I know every rat in the colony by face or by name, and hold most as very dear friends. Remember, only the original Twenty of us escaped from NIMH, so all the others were ones I was around to see born.”

“Including me,” Isabella put in. “But since Justin was the last of the Twenty to marry, and males outnumbered females among the original escapees, he had to look to a younger generation for a wife. Fortunately for him, I was available.”

Justin snickered. “Isabella has been hounding me for a wedding ring since before we left the rosebush. But I wanted to wait until the colony was fully established before taking that kind of leap in my personal life. This spring, I decided the time had finally come to start a family, and took the plunge.”

“Persistence pays off,” Isabella said, placing a paw on her husband’s arm. “And someday soon we’ll get a real start on that family he just mentioned. Now that I’m not on the Council anymore, I should have time for it too.”

Ian showed some surprise at this. “I just assumed you were a sitting member of the Council when we held the banquet, since you were at the main table. When did you step down?”

“In late spring, shortly before Justin and I were wed. Most here felt it would be improper for a Council member to be the President’s spouse as well, so Prescott stepped up to take my seat representing the teachers and educational matters. He can be a bit … stringent in his presentation, but he means well, and gives us the voice we need in colony affairs. Oh, the soup smells about ready. Excuse me while I go tend to it.” Isabella rose from her seat and bustled off to the small electric stove where several pots simmered. 

“So, I was talking to Barnes today,” Justin said to Ian between bites of his salad.

“Oh? When? I was working with him pretty steadily all throughout the day.”

“I can be a stealthy character when I want to be, slipping in when no one’s looking. Anyway, he informs me you passed your eye exam with flying colors. Your vision’s nearly perfect, in fact.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Guess I won’t be getting those mirrored sunglasses, though.”

“So, how did you know?”

“Um, know what?”

“Yesterday you all but told me you would pass, and that your clumsiness wasn’t related to your vision. What led you to say that?”

Justin’s tone remained casually polite, but Ian still hesitated as if worried about getting caught in a lie. “I suspect the cause might be more … neurological in nature.”

This revelation evoked legitimate surprise from Justin. “Neurological? What would make you say that?”

“As I was telling you yesterday, my experiences at NIMH were a lot more recent than yours, and I suspect I might still be getting over them.”

“Ah yes. And just what were your experiences at NIMH?”

“The same as yours, more or less, I should imagine.”

“I’m not entirely sure about that. You see, I was also speaking with Webster today as well. Spent quite a bit of time with the fellow, in fact. And it seems you’ve perplexed him more than he’s let on.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. You see, Webster’s a storyteller, even if the story he tells is our history. He’s a stickler for continuity and congruity, making sure all the bits and pieces line up properly, so that nothing makes it into his journals that shouldn’t be there. He absolutely hates having to go back and weed inconsistencies out of his journals. And quite frankly, he’s not entirely sure all your bits and pieces fit together like they should.”

“Oh?” Ian said again.

“Yes.” Justin’s amiable gaze had turned more penetrating, “Our Webster, he abhors discrepancies. Has almost a sixth sense about such things. So what do you suppose might be setting off his inner alarms like that?”

Ian met his host’s gaze. “Is this a dinner, Justin, or an interrogation?”

Justin was silent for many moments. “A dinner,” he said at last, eyes still locked on Ian. “I just like to know who I’m dining with.”

Isabella returned with a steaming pot. “Soup’s on! Here you go, Ian. Let it cool a bit, so you don’t burn yourself.”

Ian looked down at the savory broth Isabella had ladled into his bowl. It smelled delicious, but suddenly his thoughts were far from food, or polite socializing. “Thank you.”

“So,” Isabella asked as she filled Justin’s bowl, “who are you really, Ian?”

“You were listening?” Ian asked with a sinking feeling, feeling this was about to turn into a two-against-one match.

“Of course. I was only right over at the stove, so I heard every word.” She topped off her own bowl and resumed her seat, still the picture of the perfect accommodating hostess. “We all like you, Ian, but Webster’s hardly the only one here to notice there’s something a little … off … about you. Please don’t take that the wrong way.”

“Not sure how else I should take it.”

“Ian, we let you into our home, and made you one of us, on your word alone,” said Justin. “But the more time that goes by, the more we feel there’s something you’re not telling us. We can’t have secrets between us - especially if those secrets involve NIMH, or the humans. It’s just the three of us here, and we’ll not share anything you’d rather we didn’t. But you must be honest, and forthcoming. We will accept nothing less, from you, or from any other rat in the colony.”

“Have I given you any reason to distrust me?” Ian challenged.

“A lie of omission is still lie,” Isabella said. “Pass the coriander please, Justin.”

Ian took a deep breath and let it out again. “You know, when Mr. Ages saw me on my way, he expressed concerns at the very last about whether he might be making a mistake in telling me where you were.”

This got the rat couple’s undivided attention. “And did he?” Justin asked levelly.

“No,” Ian protested. “No, he did not. Because I truly am from NIMH, and finding you was vitally important to me. And I will tell you the same thing I told him.”

“Which was?”

Ian heaved another deep sigh. “I hesitated saying anything after that greeting you gave me at the banquet, and that speech you delivered about the rats of NIMH not being alone in the world any more. You built up expectations and hopes I didn’t want to undermine.”

“Go on.”

“I’ve long suspected that the experiments I was part of at NIMH were fundamentally different from your own, and my thorough perusals of Webster’s diaries seem to bear that out. It’s not just that I was kept in a different part of the facility, as Arthur was able to surmise right away, or that a different team of researchers was involved. Your treatments all centered around gene therapy and such, correct? It was all drugs and chemicals, injections and so forth, wasn’t it?”

Justin gave a nod. “That’s right. Are you saying yours wasn’t?”

“No. It wasn’t. Mine was … mechanical. Technological. Machines, and electrodes, and wires. Intellectual augmentation, or modification, entirely by devices and electronic instruments. I never remember having so much as a single injection.”

Justin and Isabella sat spellbound and staring, their soup forgotten. “So you’re saying … “

“I may be a NIMH rat, but I’m not a NIMH rat like all the rest of you. I was created differently. And I can only surmise that those differences are what you’re noticing now.”

“Ian … “ Justin spoke softly. “Ian, you should have told us.”

“I wanted to be sure first. And now I am. Webster’s histories have borne that out for me.”

“Then answer me this: are there others?”

Ian shook his head. “It’s like I told you: during my entire time at NIMH, I never set eyes on, or heard tell of, another rat there like me. I … think I may have been the first. It’s also possible that I may be the last.”

“What makes you say that?” Isabella asked.

“Because, not long after I was created, Dr. Hargraves left NIMH, and never came back.”

Justin sat up straighter. “Why was that? Where did he go? He wasn’t … looking for us, was he?”

A secret smile almost broke out on Ian’s face. “Dr. Hargraves never worked with Dr. Schultz, or engaged in any of the same kind of research. He would have had no interest in the previous rats of NIMH, at least in relation to his own project.”

Justin scowled. “That makes no sense! Schultz and Hargraves were both trying to produce intelligent rats, even if they used different approaches. How could Hargraves not have had an interest in us?”

“Schultz - from what I gather - left NIMH some years ago, perhaps in disgrace, perhaps to pursue his own work elsewhere. Hargraves never had anything to do with him, and as for his own departure … “ Ian shrugged. “Perhaps he was disappointed in me. It doesn’t seem he’s the only one.”

“Well … “ Isabella ventured, “if Dr. Hargraves left while you were still there, who took over his project? Who was in charge at the time of your escape?”

“No one, really. When he left, it all came to a halt. Perhaps that’s why I was able to escape so easily - no guards left to watch the asylum.”

Justin put his head down, looking distressed and dejected. “So … there aren’t more of us after all?”

“No. I’m afraid there aren’t. Or, if there are, I wouldn’t know about them. I was the result of something completely different.”

Justin’s voice remained small as he stared at his cooling soup. “So we really are all alone in the world.”

“Not as alone as I am,” said Ian in commiseration. “And that’s what I told Mr. Ages as we parted ways. At least you all have each other. If I truly was the only rat produced by Hargraves’ experiment, as now seems likely, I am absolutely and completely alone. That was why I so desperately sought you out; I had literally nowhere else to go. If I hadn’t been able to find you, that would have been the end for me.”

Justin looked up at Ian, face distraught and eyes damp. “Dammit, Ian, you should have told us! The hope you gave us … gone now … “

Isabella threw a comforting arm around her husband’s shoulders. “Don’t fret, Justin dear. We’re no worse off than we were before - and we’ve gotten a new member of our family out of the bargain.” She glanced Ian’s way. “A strange new member, it’s true, but a new friend nonetheless. And in this world, we must take any friends we can get.”


	9. August

The entire colony could tell something was bothering Justin, but no one could figure out exactly what.

For days after his private dinner with Ian, the rat President would spend inordinate amounts of time in the armory and drilling room, putting himself through paces rats a quarter of his age would have found grueling. Everyone could see he was working off some unknown frustrations or exorcising some secret demons, but Justin himself remained tight-lipped, confiding in no one, not even his oldest and closest friends.

When Webster sought out Justin to raise further concerns about irregularities in Ian’s accounts, Justin gruffly dismissed the historian with assurances that they would all make sense in time, and to just leave them as they were.

When Barnes or others tracked Justin down with further examples of Ian’s idiosyncrasies or odd behavior, Justin brusquely told them not to worry themselves, that it was just Ian being Ian, and unless the new rat in their midst committed some especially egregious breach of colony ways, he was to be given wide latitude in his various foibles.

And when the Council brought up anything to do with Ian in the course of their routine business, Justin clammed up and did his best to change the subject.

It wasn’t as if fortune had inflicted upon him any reason to be dour and moody; indeed, in those early days of August, things were looking up for the colony. Rains had come in time to save most of the harvest, and new crops were planted to replace those lost to the drought. The ground animals were keeping to their agreement and staying away from the fields, and the guards were having better luck than usual in keeping the scavenging birds out of the crops. The stream flowed once more at its normal level, easing any danger that the waterworks might fail and leave the colony deep and dry.

As the month wore on toward September, however, one dark spot blemished these sunnier circumstances. With each day that passed, it became increasingly apparent that Ian was indeed growing visibly older, and at an alarming rate. Most of the other rats had grown to like the newcomer, or at least accept him as an intriguing new fixture in their community, and Ian’s dilemma distressed them. His coat, which had only held a tinge of gray upon his arrival at Thorn Valley, had turned completely white, and a chronic stoop showed in his shoulders. It seemed that the scientists at NIMH, perhaps wary over the escape of their previous rat subjects, had given him a treatment that greatly shortened his life, rather than prolonging it.

Everyone in the colony realized Ian had only a few more months to live at most, and they grieved for him, but Ian himself kept quite busy. He refused special treatment, and continued to help the sick and injured as if nothing were the matter. Once he had finished reading all of Webster’s journals up to the day of his arrival, Ian spent his spare time down in the workshops with Hugo, working out an idea for an invention of his own.

One afternoon Ian and Hugo went up to the surface to test the finished product. Word of the demonstration reached Justin, who turned out to watch, curious. Hugo so seldom left the underground part of the colony that only something special could get him to do so, and Justin wanted to see what it was.

Justin found them several yards from the colony’s entrance, in a clear spot by the stream. Strapped to Ian’s back was a very large box, with a spool of insulated electrical wire protruding from its side. Ian held a crossbow, its loaded steel bolt attached to the end of the wire, which passed through a system of pulleys built onto the side of the crossbow.

Hugo displayed his typical excitement over a novel innovation. “I think we’ve got something here, Justin. If it works right and we can make more, the birds won’t come near our plants.”

“Great. Uh … what exactly is it?”

“Electric crossbow,” Ian said.

“The backpack holds a powerful battery,” Hugo explained, “much more powerful than the ones in our lances. The wire connects it to the bolt, and the pulleys are there to keep the wire from getting caught on anything.” Hugo stood back and motioned for Justin to do the same. “Okay, Ian … let ‘er rip!”

Ian flipped a switch below the spool, triggering an audible hum of energy, and aimed at his target, a wood block some distance away. He squeezed the trigger and the bolt shot forward, the wire unreeling smoothly. The projectile struck the block with a thunk, burying itself a third of the way in, and immediately the wood around it began to smoke. Within a minute the entire block was engulfed in flames.

Ian yanked at the wire until the bolt came free. “Don’t want this to get damaged.”

“That’s … quite impressive,” Justin murmured as he watched the burning piece of wood.

“And it worked perfectly,” Hugo added.

“This is what I meant when I first told Hugo his lance concept could be improved upon,” Ian told Justin. “The lance is strictly a close-quarters weapon, but this gives you the advantage of distance. Of course, it still needs work. For example, the spool should be mounted on the crossbow, not on the battery. I’d also like to insulate the bolts, except for the tips. That way, accidents would not be as … Justin, are you listening?”

Justin was staring absently into the flames. “Huh? Oh, yes … it’s a good weapon, Ian. Can you make more?”

“We think so,” Hugo said indignantly, not about to let Justin forget that it was his invention too.

“Very good. Let me know when you can have some ready for the guards.” Justin turned and started back toward the colony. Ian watched him walk away, then took off the backpack.

“Hugo, can you take this inside? I want to talk to Justin.”

The hunchbacked rat grunted. “I suppose so.”

“Thanks.” Ian ran after Justin, leaving Hugo to take care of the weapon. Justin was walking slowly with his head down, so Ian was able to catch up with him before he reached the colony gate. “Justin, I know you’ve been avoiding me, but you looked like you were positively in a fog back there.”

Justin sighed. “Yes, I have been avoiding you, haven’t I? And I do apologize. It really isn’t fair, I know, but after what you told me and Isabella at our dinner last month … ”

“Yes, that was quite the bombshell, I admit. But being shunned by the colony’s President isn’t exactly doing wonders for my standing around here.”

“From all I hear, your standing is just fine … and the least of your worries. How are you doing, Ian?”

The gray rat shrugged. “A little slower and clumsier all the time. Barnes won’t let me treat patients on my own anymore, which I somewhat resent, since I don’t think my deteriorating condition is affecting my performance any. But, he’s the doctor, and I’m just the apprentice.”

“I’m very sorry about what’s happening to you,” Justin said quietly, the sadness in his voice genuine. He glanced around to make sure none of the farmhands or guards nearby were listening. “Do you think it’s anything to do with your … different treatments?”

“Don’t see what else it could be. Your treatments were chemical, mine were mechanical. You got increased strength and longer lives for your troubles, and I got … this.” Ian held out one gray arm.

“If there’s anything we can do for you, anything at all … ”

“I will be sure to let you know. Thanks.”

Justin glanced over his shoulder at Hugo, still struggling with the electric crossbow and its unwieldy battery pack. “I will say, I wouldn’t have guessed weapons development for how you’d be wanting to spend your spare time these days.”

“The colony always needs weapons. I’m happy to help provide them.” Ian studied Justin more closely. “But that’s not what’s got you so distracted, is it? And it’s not me, either. What’s wrong, Justin?”

“It’s … it’s nothing, really. Isabella hasn’t felt very well the last couple of days, and even missed classes today. She woke up this morning with a fever.”

“Would you like me to look at her?”

Justin shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but Barnes is with her now. He said earlier that it probably isn’t anything serious, but … well, I can’t help worrying. She’s the world to me.”

“Yes, I know.” They entered the colony in silence. As they passed under the portcullis and descended the ramp, Ian said softly, “If it’s all the same, I’d like to have a look at her anyway.”

“We’ll see what Barnes says first.”

They reached the third level and went directly to Justin and Isabella’s chambers. Barnes was just leaving the room. “How is she?” Justin asked anxiously.

“She’s asleep. Justin, I’d like to speak with you in my office.”

“Of course.” Justin motioned for Ian to follow them, but Barnes raised a forepaw.

“I think we should be alone.”

“If it’s about Isabella,” Justin said firmly, “I’d like Ian to be there.”

Barnes shrugged. “As you wish. Come along, then, both of you.” The three of them proceeded along the curving corridor to the doctor’s chamber. Once inside, Barnes said, “Sit down, Justin.” The leader of the rats wordlessly settled himself in a chair, Ian standing beside him.

“I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure,” Barnes said in barely a whisper, “and now that I am sure, I don’t know how to tell you. Justin … Isabella has Simmons’ Disease.”

Justin stared at the doctor, that dreaded diagnosis failing to register at first. Then cold realization sank in, and Justin swallowed hard before speaking in a small voice. “Can you do anything?”

“I can try to keep her comfortable. I don’t know if I can save her life.”

Ian, his own face twisted in grief at this news, laid a comforting paw on Justin’s shoulder. Justin leaned forward, buried his face in his arms on Barnes’ desk, and cried.


	10. Cure

Justin wept for some time while the two rat doctors stood by feeling wretchedly helpless. When he could finally bring himself to speak, he said hollowly, “If anything happens to her, I don’t know what I would do. We put off marrying for so very long, and for this to happen after we were only just wed at the start of summer … If she dies, I don’t know if I’ll be able to serve as President any more.”

“Justin,” Ian whispered, “may I go see her?”

“It won’t do any good,” Barnes protested softly. “I’ve already done everything for her that can be done. All we can do now is wait and see what happens.”

Justin waved off Barnes’ remark. “If you want to see her, Ian, you have my permission.”

“Thank you.” Ian gave their grieving leader a short bow and left the room. After he was gone, Barnes spoke up.

“There was no need for that, Justin. Ian shows very astute doctor’s instincts, but I worry about his current state. His aging affliction limits him; I see it every day, and it’s getting worse. But even if he weren’t suffering from such a condition, he’d still be as powerless as I am.”

“Isn’t there any hope for Isabella at all?” Justin cried, rising from his chair and pacing the floor.

“Yes, there is hope,” Barnes said, “but I’m afraid that’s all there is. You know I’ve never been able to save anyone with this disease. We can hope and pray that Isabella recovers, but if she does, it won’t be because of anything I did.” The doctor came from behind his desk and embraced Justin. “I feel so sorry for you, my friend. I really do.” Barnes stood back. “But even if she dies, you can’t step down. You’ll still have to be our President.”

Justin threw up his arms. “How can I?”

“Because you’re the only leader we’ve got.”

“Arthur would make a good President.”

Barnes shook his head. “Arthur’s a great architect, but he’s no leader. He could never handle all the problems you contend with on a daily basis.”

“What about Brutus?”

“Brutus is a moron. He’d settle every dispute with a duel to the death. Besides, those eyes of his creep everyone out.” Barnes took Justin’s forepaw in his own. “Your leadership is responsible for all that we’ve done here, and we still need it to survive. If you quit now, we’ll enter a dark age that we may never come out of.”

Justin sank back into his chair, idly fingering the amulet around his neck - then his gaze went to the red Stone dangling at the end of its gold pendant. “There is … one other thing we can try.”

Barnes followed Justin’s gaze, and shook his head emphatically. “No. No, you can’t.”

“Why not? If the power of the Stone can’t be called upon at a time like this, then what good is it?”

“We’ve tried to use it for healing before, and it’s never worked.”

“Then there’s no harm in trying again this time, is there?”

“Maybe there is,” Barnes countered. “Remember the bear, Justin. Remember what happened then.”

“This is completely different!”

“Is it? That bear was about to tear up the colony, and the intensity of the moment had you in its grip. You tried to use the Stone to send it away, and ended up killing the beast instead. Your emotions got the best of you, and when you finally did awaken the Stone’s powers, you couldn’t control them. You’re emotional now, and understandably so. There’s no telling what would happen if you did what you’re proposing.”

“I would never hurt Isabella,” Justin bit off with cold challenge.

“You would never intend to,” Barnes countered with as much compassion as he could. “But what if you did? What if, in your distraught state, you unleashed more forces beyond your power to control, and it claimed her life?”

“She’s going to die anyway.”

“Perhaps she is. Perhaps that’s inevitable. But ask yourself this: what if you had to live all your remaining days, all your remaining years, knowing it was not the disease which had claimed her, but that she had died at your own paw?”

“What if I have to live all my remaining years knowing I might have been able to save her, but was too scared to try?”

“That still leaves the fact that all prior attempts to use the Stone to heal the sick have come to nothing. All signs suggest it can’t be used that way. Remember Mrs. Brisby; she used the Stone to save her family, but at the cost of serious burns to her paws. And you yourself slept for three days after subduing that bear; the effort drained you to your very core. We’ve seen no evidence at all that the Stone can heal, and abundant evidence that it can cause harm. That thing is dangerous, Justin. You simply can’t use it on Isabella.”

The rat President glared at his old friend. “With all due respect, doctor, that’s not your decision to make.”

“She’s my patient, Justin.”

“She’s my wife, Barnes.” Justin stood and started for the door. Barnes stepped in front of him, seeking to block his way. The rat President locked gazes with the physician and growled, “Stand aside, Barnes. I won’t ask you a second time.”

Seeing the look of terrible determination in Justin’s eyes, Barnes sighed and relented. “At least let me go with you. So I can be there in case … well, so I can be there.”

They arrived a short time later just as Ian was stepping out into the corridor from Justin and Isabella’s residence. He carried the jug of water that Barnes had left by Isabella’s bed for her to drink from. “I’ve examined her,” said Ian, “and I’m not sure, but I think I may be able to help her.”

Justin couldn’t believe his ears, his thoughts of the Stone momentarily forgotten. “Can you? Really?”

“Maybe.”

“How?” asked Barnes.

Ian hefted the jug. “First off, she must not have anything to drink.”

Barnes scowled. “Are you mad? She’s burning up with fever! She must have fluids.”

“Normally, that would be true, but not in this case. She may have a fever, but her kidneys have also stopped working. If she keeps drinking, she’ll literally drown from the inside out.” Ian turned to Justin. “You should be by her side. The next few hours will be very rough for her. She’ll beg for water, but she must not have a drop. When she starts going to the bathroom again, she can have small amounts, but nothing before then. In the meantime, I’d like to take a sample of her blood. I wanted to ask you first.”

“Will it help?” Justin asked.

“If I can study her blood, I might be able to figure out what exactly is causing the disease. And if I can learn that, maybe I can cure her.”

Justin looked to Barnes for confirmation; the doctor gave a discouraging shrug. “It’s nothing I haven’t tried before myself. I don’t know what he’s expecting to find.” His eyes slipped to the red Stone at Justin’s neck. “But it’s worth a try. Anything’s worth a try at this point.”

Justin looked from one doctor to the other. “If this doesn’t work, how long does she have? What kind of window are we looking at here?”

“Another day,” Barnes surmised. “Maybe two.”

Justin turned to Ian. “Then we’ll try it your way. No fluids for now, and you have my permission to take blood, and to do whatever you feel you must to save Isabella. Just tell me one thing: does she have a chance?”

“Yes,” Ian said, “I think she may have a very good chance.”

“Then get to it.”

Barnes helped Ian draw two small vials of blood from Isabella, after which Ian retreated to his own room to begin his medical investigations while Justin and Barnes sat with Isabella to watch over her. She seemed slightly delirious with fever, sleeping deeply and fitfully by turns, but thankfully never awakening to beg for the water she could not be permitted. Later in the afternoon Barnes took his leave and sought out Ian in his chambers. There he found the new doctor deep in his pressing research.

Barnes regarded the instrument at the center of Ian’s attentions. “When did you get your own microscope?” 

“Put it together myself,” Ian replied without looking up. “Hugo had all the parts I needed in the workshops.” He reached up to the shelf above his work table and brought down a bottle of blue liquid. He added some to the blood sample and put the blood back under the microscope. “A-ha! I thought that was it.”

“What is it?”

“Something very interesting.” Ian handed Barnes another bottle, this one of pink liquid. “You were right. It is a stomach virus. But it also produces substances that get into the blood and shut down the kidneys. Give some of this to Isabella. It should get her kidneys working again.”

Barnes eyed the pink bottle. “Will this … cure her?”

“No,” Ian said, “but I think I know what will. After you take that to Isabella, see if you can find Brutus, and tell him to come here.”

“Do I look like a messenger service?” Barnes asked angrily.

“No, not really, but you’ll have to do.”

Barnes grunted and left to do Ian’s bidding. Several minutes later Brutus was at the door. “You wanted to see me, Ian?”

“Yes, I did.” Ian gave Brutus a crude drawing of a plant. “I need a herb that I’m pretty sure grows locally, but we don’t currently have any stocks of it in our formulary. Since you and your guards spend so much time outdoors on your sentry rotations, I figured you’d be the best ones to ask. Have you ever seen any of this growing in the valley?”

Brutus studied Ian’s drawing a moment through his clouded eyes. “Is it red on the bottoms of the leaves?”

“That’s it. Can you rustle me up some?”

“Sure,” Brutus nodded. “Is this by any chance for Justin’s wife?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then you’ll have it within the hour.” Brutus hurried away, and Ian set about making other preparations for Isabella’s medicinal needs.

Brutus returned after scarcely half an hour, dragging behind him three leaves that were as big as he was. “I hope these’re what you wanted.”

“Fine, fine. Uh, didn’t need quite that much, though.” Ian patted Brutus on the back. “You’ve done well.”

“Will this save Isabella?”

“That’s what we’re about to find out.”

Brutus left, and Ian got down to making Isabella’s medicine. He tore a piece off one leaf, mashed it up with a mortar and pestle, and added some of it to a bowl of steaming water. Then he added two other pawfuls of dried herbs he’d secured from the the colony’s pharmaceutical stocks and stirred the mixture for quite some time. Putting the hot bowl on a tray so he could carry it, Ian went to Justin and Isabella’s chamber.

Justin had not been away from his wife’s side once all afternoon or evening, and greeted Ian with the desperate hope of a despairing husband. “Is it true?” he asked. “Have you found a cure?”

“I think I may have.” Ian set the tray on the floor by the bed. “After that cools a bit, give it to her. And make sure she drinks it all.”

“But, you said she couldn’t have anything to drink.”

“The medicine I sent Barnes in here with earlier should get her kidneys working again soon, so that’s no longer a danger. Now we have to attack the virus itself, and that’s what this second medicine is for.”

“Thank you, Ian.” Justin took both of Ian’s paws in his own and squeezed them. “Thank you, more than I can say.”

“Thank me when she’s better. Is Barnes around?”

“Not since he dropped off the kidney medicine.”

“Ah.” Ian saw that Isabella was asleep. “No need to rouse her. Let her wake up on her own, and then give her the medicine. I’ll be by later tonight to see how she’s doing.” He left without waiting for Justin to thank him again.

Sometime past midnight Barnes came by and checked Isabella’s temperature. His eyes widened as he performed his examination. “Justin, her fever’s almost gone.” He shook his head in wonder. “Ian’s actually done it. He’s found a cure for Simmons’ Disease.”

Justin heaved a shuddering sigh of relief as he moved from the bedside for the first time that afternoon and evening. “I’m going to go tell Ian of this,” he told Barnes. “He said he was going to come back to check on Isabella, but he never did.”

“He’s probably fallen asleep. Given his condition, today must have tired him out. He must be exhausted.”

“Well, I’m going to go check. If he is awake, I want to talk to him.” Justin went out the door and down the corridor to Ian’s room. He found the door ajar and the lights on inside, so let himself in.

Ian sat nestled in a cushioned armchair, gazing at the wall of his chamber. He looked up at Justin’s arrival. “How’s Isabella?” Ian sounded weary beyond words, but also oddly downcast.

“She’s recovering.”

“I knew she would.”

“Ian, have you gotten any sleep at all tonight?”

“I haven’t got enough time left to waste it all sleeping.” It was only then that Justin noticed a half-empty bottle of wine on the floor beside the chair, with no sign of any glass or cup to go with it.

“Ian, I cannot express deeply enough my gratitude to you for what you did today. Not only did you save my wife’s life, but you saved me as well. I am forever in your debt.”

“Forever’s a long time. I don’t plan on waiting that long … although I do think I’ll be collecting on that debt, and fairly soon, too.”

Justin wasn’t sure what to say to that, so settled for reaching down and taking away the bottle. “I am also very sorry for you. Your plight truly grieves me, and if you ever want to talk to me about anything, come to me anytime you feel like it. I’ll always be available for you.”

“I will,” Ian acknowledged with a nod of appreciation. “You can count on it.”


	11. In the Forest

In the forest that lay between Thorn Valley and the human town, a tiny hooded figure limped across the bed of dried pine needles carpeting the woodland floor. Evening approached, which meant that the predators of the night would soon become active, and the solitary creature sought the shelter of its hidden burrow before nocturnal hunters endangered its life.

A tremendous whoosh sounded overhead and a shadowy giant set down in front of the hooded animal. Helpless, the wanderer cowered and covered its head with its forelegs.

The Great Owl, master of the forest, bent over to inspect its quarry, its huge eyes seeming to glow in the twilight. “Ah, there you are,” the owl’s voice boomed in its slow, stentorian tones. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

The tiny creature glanced up fearfully, then uncovered its head and straightened. “You! Go away and leave me alone!”

“I have a favor to ask of you,” the Great Owl said.

“I’ve done enough favors for you. For the past four years, it’s been nothing but favors, and errands, and meddlesome tasks! Let me be!”

“You would not be alive now, if not for me.”

“And there are times when I curse you for that.” The hooded figure turned and started away.

The owl closed his beak around the animal’s cloak and dragged the struggling figure back before him. The little creature was furious, and began beating the owl’s foot with its walking stick. “No, no, no! Whatever it is you want, the answer is no! Now go away and stop bothering me!” Again the figure tried to limp away.

“Jenner!” The Great Owl’s voice echoed through the darkening forest. The figure stopped and turned a bloodshot eye back to the giant bird. “We have an offer that you cannot refuse.”

“I can and I do. And who is ‘we?’”

“An interested party,” the owl said. “Jenner, how would you like to have your old body back?”

The rat might have straightened, had his crippled spine allowed it. “What … did you say?”

“Accept our offer, and all of your wounds will be healed. You will be as you were in your prime - before your crimes.”

“Impossible!” Jenner roared. “Nobody can heal me.”

“You would be able to do it yourself,” the owl teased in his languorous drawl, “once you obtain the Stone that Justin wears.”

“The Stone!” Jenner stumped back toward the Great Owl. “What exactly is your offer?”

“The maker of the Stone must have it back. If you get it for us, you may use its powers to cure your deformities.”

“To cure myself? The Stone has no such power!”

“But it does - if one knows how to use it properly.”

“And how am I to learn that skill? Am I to become your pupil? Or the student of your mysterious associate who claims to have made the Stone?”

“The inscription on the back of the amulet speaks of a key. Your heart holds no such purity to open the door you must open, so we will provide you with a key of your own.”

A small green crystal appeared from thin air and fell at Jenner’s feet. The deformed rat gaped at this otherworldly display, reminded of some of the feats he’d seen Nicodemus perform back when the leader of the rats had possessed the Stone for himself.

“If you can pull off tricks like that,” Jenner sneered, “why do you need the red Stone back? Why not just use this one, or whatever you used to conjure it?”

“The Stone of the amulet is both singular and myriad. Its maker must have it back, and has chosen you for this purpose - against my own counsel, I might add. This green crystal will allow you to tap into its healing powers for your own benefit. It will serve as your key - in more ways than one.”

Jenner groaned as he stooped to retrieve the emerald crystal from the ground. “I accept your proposal,” he said with a dry croak of laughter, “but you seem to forget something. Justin would never let me inside the colony. And even if he did, I couldn’t get the Stone from him.”

“The green crystal will make that easier for you as well. You must get into the colony yourself, but once there, it will allow you to move about unobserved, and make you appear to Justin as someone else. When you ask him for the Stone, he will give it to you.”

“And once I have the Stone?”

“You may use it as you wish, but afterwards you must bring it right to us. Do not keep it, or we will come after it - and after you.”

The Great Owl’s meaning was clear. Jenner stashed the crystal within his robes. “I’ll do as you say.”

“If you know what is best for you, you will do exactly as I say. Do not double-cross us.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Jenner grinned, and hobbled off. The owl watched him go, then flew back to his nest.

At his home inside a giant hollow tree, the formidable nightbird ducked into his lair of guttering cobwebs and scattered bones. Nearly every creature of the forest feared him, but now he hosted one which did not, for it dwelt in the realms beyond fear.

The Great Owl turned about in the towering citadel of the hollow trunk, searching the dark recesses of his nest for what he knew must be there. Then, in the back corner where shadows lay upon shadows, something stirred without stirring, and a single red eye appeared … followed by another, and then another, and then still more, gleaming out of the gloom like a small hoard of rubies.

“I have done as you requested, Master,” the owl said, “but I do not think he will keep his word. Again, I question your choice of messenger for this vital errand.”

“It is the way we have chosen.” A thick voice that sounded like several voices at once filled the hollowed trunk. “He is a rat of NIMH. It is time he rejoin his brethren.”

“And if he brings disaster to his fellow rats?”

“History must play out as it will. The streams are all-important. You will be watching him. We will be watching him.”

“I cannot watch him in the colony. And I sometimes feel you are … elsewhere.”

“He brings the Stone to us, or we will take it from him. It is as simple as that.”

The Great Owl gave a skeptical huff. “Where Jenner is concerned, nothing is simple.”


	12. Ian's Secret

A week after Isabella’s recovery, Ian asked Justin to come to his room. It was late at night, and Ian appeared to be in an especially somber mood, the lights in his chamber dimmed. He offered Justin a seat, then took one himself.

“Thank you for coming. I know you’ve been busy as of late.”

Justin waved it off. “No busier than usual, and for the rat who saved my wife’s life, I can always spare a few minutes, day or night. What’s on your mind, Ian?”

“Quite a bit, actually. You told me you felt you were in my debt. Well, tonight, I’ll be collecting on that debt - and it will be a biggie.”

This definitely grabbed Justin’s attention, and the rat President sat up straighter. Ian had all but stopped working with Barnes in recent days, seemingly resigned to the futility of continuing his apprenticeship in the face of his accelerated aging, instead keeping to his room in solitary contemplation. “Whatever I can get for you, or do for you, Ian, you’ll have it, if it’s within my power to grant it.”

“Thank you. But in order to ask this of you, I have a confession to make - one last thing about me I’ve been keeping to myself. And it’s a biggie too.”

Justin was hanging on Ian’s every word now. “Is it about NIMH? And Dr. Hargraves?”

Ian gave a light laugh. “I guess you could say that.”

“Ian … is the colony in danger?”

This question seemed to surprise the aging rat. “Not at all. Not as far as I know. I’d not have kept anything from you that affected your safety. I hope you trust me at least that far.”

“You do have a history of being less than totally forthcoming,” Justin reminded him.

“You’re right,” Ian admitted, “and I’m to blame for divulging my story in bits and pieces, although I’ve also had very good reasons for doing so, as I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ve heard me out here. But that all ends tonight. After this talk, I will have no more secrets, and you will know everything about me that you need to know.”

Ian paused, as if searching for the right words. “I’ve grown fond of you, Justin, and do I consider you a friend, in spite of the suspicions that have come between us. I also think you’re very level-headed, and so I am going to tell you something about me that I dare not share with anyone else in the colony. You are the only one here I can trust with this.”

“I understand. But you were saying something about NIMH?”

“I’ve already told you that the experiments I was involved with were of a very different nature than the ones performed on you, and that’s all true as far as it goes. But what I left out was that they weren’t geared toward increasing intelligence in rats at all. Their objective was something else entirely.”

Justin sat back, half-stunned by this revelation. “How can that be? You’re a NIMH rat, just like us. Your depth and breadth of knowledge proves it. How could the experiments have been meant for anything else?”

“That’s just it: I’m not like you.” Ian gathered himself, as if uncertain how to proceed or explain. “Justin, how much do you know about the mind, and how it functions?”

“I’m no doctor myself, but I know enough. I’ve read on the subject; most of us here have, since it does rather bear on our own situation.”

“Have you heard of MRI?”

Justin played the term across his frontal lobes, then shook his head. “I’m not familiar.”

“Magnetic resonance imaging. It’s a fairly new technology, so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it. It’s been in development for years, but only would have been coming into wider use around the time you left the rosebush. Many hospitals don’t even have MRI machines yet. In simple terms, it’s like a real-time, three-dimensional x-ray, except that it doesn’t use x-rays at all. A way of looking inside the body in far greater detail than ever before - including the brain. It can almost see thoughts, if you use it right and know how to read the results. MRI has given more insight into the functional working of the mind than any technology before it.”

“So they were testing this MRI on you?” Justin guessed. “And that’s what made you smarter?”

“No, and no. Dr. Hargraves’ area of expertise was how the mind functioned, and the very nature of consciousness itself. He had some rather, ah, unconventional theories along those lines. He saw the living mind as more … material and tangible, shall we say … than his fellow researchers, yet at the same time viewed it as ephemeral and ever-changing. But far from seeing this as a contradiction or paradox, he imagined these two opposing qualities as working together to lend the mind unique attributes. His research centered around what could be done with the mind. Manipulation, and … transference.”

“Transference?”

Ian gave a secret smile. “Well, haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to see the world through other eyes?”

“Not really. My eyes work just fine for that purpose. But where do you fit in to all of this?”

“Dr. Hargraves used the MRI brain-mapping technology to advance both his studies and his theories, marrying everything he could learn from that new technology with his own research. And then he built a machine of his own - one he hoped could prove his hypotheses and open the doors to entirely new branches of scientific investigation and achievement.”

“And that’s what he tested on you.”

“In a manner of speaking. I was the result of the very first and the very last test of that device.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Things went marvelously right, and disastrously wrong.”

“They must have, if he abandoned his research as a result. You said he left NIMH over it. Was that true?”

“Every word of it.”

“He must have been very disappointed in how you turned out, although I can’t imagine why, knowing you as I do. Did you reveal your intelligence to him?”

“It wasn’t necessary.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s just say that Dr. Hargraves had a very bad day that day.”

Justin’s brow furrowed. “You see, this is not what I like hearing. You say he considered his experiment a failure, or else his superiors did, even though it resulted in you, and that he left in a huff or was forced out in disgrace. I may not be human, but I know enough about them to know that a proud scientific mind would not easily accept such an ignominious outcome. He would hold a grudge, or feel he has something to prove, and stop at nothing to prove it. And that could be very, very dangerous for us.”

“It’s not like that at all, Justin.”

“How can you know? I have been losing sleep over this, Ian. You said yourself that Hargraves knew of us, that others at NIMH knew of us, which must be true for you to be here at all. He left or was forced out under circumstances which might lead him to become obsessed with finding us. If you could follow the leads all the way to the Fitzgibbon’s farm, he could easily do the same.”

“You’re worrying about nothing, Justin. Dr. Hargraves is not out there looking for you.”

“But what if he is? What if he’s told others? What if he’s working with Dr. Schultz, and the two of them show up here in Thorn Valley? Humans must never discover this colony, Ian. We can’t let that happen.”

“Schultz is no part of this, I assure you. He was gone from NIMH long before I was ever there.”

“Hargraves could have reached out to him … told him another intelligent rat had been created and escaped. It wouldn’t take them long to figure out where you were headed. They could be at the farm right now!”

“Where Mr. Ages would politely tell them how to get to Thorn Valley?”

“This isn’t funny, Ian!” Justin had been growing more and more agitated during the course of their exchange, his anxiety over the specter of discovery overriding all else. Now he stood, looming over the gray rat. “This isn’t another one of your jokes!”

“Actually, it’s the biggest joke of all, entirely at my own expense.” Seeking to calm the rat President, Ian spoke clearly and slowly. “Justin, I can assure you with absolute certainty that Dr. Hargraves poses no threat to this colony or the rats of NIMH whatsoever.”

This bold assurance did little to soothe Justin. “How can you know that? How can you possibly know that?”

Ian heaved a deep sigh and spread his paws. “Because, Dr. Ian Hargraves is sitting in front of you right now.”

Justin stared. And gaped. And glanced from side to side at nothing in particular before his gaze settled back on Ian. “What?”

“I’m Dr. Hargraves.”

Justin stared and gaped some more. “You’re insane.”

Ian folded his paws. “No. I’m human. In mind, if not in body.”

Justin sank back into his chair, an expression of utter bewilderment on his face.

“I told you this would be a doozie.”

Justin continue to stare blankly at the floor.

“Um, say something, Justin, I’m starting to babble here.”

Coming back to himself, Justin looked Ian in the eye. “You need to tell me everything. Now.”

“Not much more to tell, really. The machine I built was designed to allow my consciousness to enter another body. I didn’t want to experiment on a fellow human, in case something went wrong, so I chose a rat for convenience’s sake; it could just have easily have been some other animal. If I’d calculated correctly, I should have been able to see through its eyes, hear with its ears, smell and taste and feel everything it was … think with its brain. But what was meant to be a temporary foray of my consciousness into another vessel turned into a one-way journey, because my mind went completely into this body, while my human body died. As far as human society and the scientific community is concerned, Dr. Ian Hargraves died that night. And in a way they’re right; I’ll never be human again.

“Even though I never worked directly with Dr. Schultz, everyone at NIMH knew about his experiments, and the intelligent rats that escaped. That was my lifeline. I couldn’t live as a rat after having spent nearly fifty years as a human, and I couldn’t live among humans in a rat’s body. I knew that if I had any place left to me - if there was anyone out there who might be able to help me - it would be you. If you still existed … if you ever did exist. So, I escaped and set out to find you. And, here I am.”

Justin digested all this in silence for some moments. “Well, that explains how you knew so much about medicine.” Again he looked Ian in the eye. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Ian shrugged. “Let me be presumptuous, and answer that question with one of my own: What do you want? Then allow me to be even more presumptuous, and answer for you. You want safety. You want security. You want to be able to sleep soundly at night knowing all your friends and family are snug in their beds and will see tomorrow. You want peace. You want success, and fulfillment. You want to lead happy lives and be the masters of your own destiny. You want the colony to endure, and to thrive. Well, I want all those things too - every single one of them. And I would like to be around to enjoy them … except I can’t. Because I’m dying.”

Something in Justin’s face changed. He no longer regarded Ian as a strange and impossible entity in the midst of his beloved community, as a suspicious intruder to be interrogated, but as the friend who’d saved his wife’s life. “I … what can we do for you?”

“I have to go back to NIMH. I’m not ready to die yet, and if I can be saved anywhere, that’s where it will be.”

“NIMH?”

“Dr. Schultz isn’t there anymore … but his research is. Copies of all his findings, records of his experiments, maybe even the drugs themselves, or at least instructions on how to make more of them. Something he did extended your lives. I need to find what that was, and use it on myself.”

“Yes, but … ” Justin mulled this over for some moments. “I’m not sure I can allow that.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re a human - in mind if not in body, to use your own words. You know where the colony is. In that sense, you are in some ways our worst nightmare.”

“Justin! I would never tell any human about the colony! I probably wouldn’t be able to!”

“I can believe you wouldn’t mean to. But you’re talking about going back into NIMH. Back into the heart of where we were created, and where the human forces sought to destroy us once we had escaped. What you know could come out. That’s not a risk I’m sure we can afford to take.”

“You seem to forget what I just told you: if I can find a way to save my life, I intend to return to the colony to live out the rest of my days here. I can’t very well do that if it’s discovered and destroyed, can I? Keeping this secret isn’t just in your interest, it’s in mine too. And you should know by now that I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

Justin smirked. “There is that, yes. Tell me, if you did make it back to NIMH, how would you go about accessing Dr. Schultz’s research, and the drugs you’d need? Would you do it all yourself?”

“No,” Ian grudgingly conceded. “I’d need help. I would have to try to contact my previous assistants Harry and Lucy.”

“And you trust them?”

“Absolutely. If I can make them understand who I am and what I need, they will help me.”

“So you will be working directly with humans, on matters pertaining directly to our own creation.” Justin spread his paws. “You see my problem with this?”

Ian tried a different tack. “I’ve learned a lot about your society during my time here. Your ways, your customs … your laws. You don’t have the death penalty; your most severe punishment for any crime is banishment. But if you deny me this, it will be a death sentence for me. And I don’t think you could bring yourself to condemn me in that fashion.”

Justin gave a conceding nod. “This is one for the ethics casebooks, isn’t it?”

“To put it mildly. Justin … I saved Isabella. Now you get to save me. It’s as easy as that. Just say I can go - and that I can stay if I make it back alive.”

Justin looked Ian over; his gray fur appeared pure white in the dim light. “Are you in any shape to make such a trip?”

A hopeful smile lifted the corners of Ian’s mouth. “Is that a yes?”

“Let’s just say we’re moving to the logistical part of the discussion - and speaking hypothetically.”

“I may look old on the outside, but I feel perfectly fit, I assure you. And if this is what it takes to save me, I’ll find a way to make the journey.”

Justin contemplated the angles of the situation for a few moments more, then declared, “I’m sending two guards with you.”

“Um … I’m not so sure … “

“That’s my condition. If you go to NIMH, they’ll be coming with you. This is not open to negotiation.”

“How will you explain why they’ll be going back to NIMH with me?”

“We’ll have to tell them the truth about you, of course.”

“And you trust them to take that … well?”

“As I may have mentioned, I used to be Captain of the Guard before I was elected President. I know them - and I’ll be sure to pick two we can both trust for this mission.”

“I’m more worried by what will happen if and when I get back. This isn’t a secret I’d like to get out.”

A faintly bemused look crossed Justin’s face. “You’re hoping to live here permanently, and never reveal that you’re human?”

“I’ve pulled it off so far, haven’t I?”

“Just barely.”

“Better for everyone to think I’m ‘odd’ and a little ‘off’ than to know the truth. They can accept an oddball. Will they ever accept a human?”

“I really couldn’t say. But first we have to get you to NIMH. And I’m afraid you may have waited too long. If you’re to do this, you must leave tomorrow - with the guards. You barely made it here alive. You’ll have a much better chance of getting back to NIMH if they go with you.”

“I’ll not turn them down, as far as that goes. I’m just worried what to do with them once we actually get to NIMH. You are sending them with me to make sure I don’t tell anyone about Thorn Valley, correct?”

“Partly. Mainly. Yes.”

‘Well, here’s the thing about that: my assistants were working with me on my own project. Dr. Schultz wasn’t even on their radar - which means you weren’t either. If I show up alone, I can give them any story I want about where I’ve been all this time, and they’re not likely to question it. But, I show up with two guards dressed in uniforms and wielding electric lances, they’re gonna catch on pretty quickly that there’s a colony of technologically-advanced rats out there somewhere. Get the picture?”

“I’m afraid it can’t be helped. You’ll all just have to figure something out when you get there. Maybe you can all ditch the clothes and weapons before heading into NIMH. But they will be going with you.”

Ian considered this, then said simply, “Thank you, Justin.”

A knocking came at the door just then, and a guard stuck his head into Ian’s chambers without waiting to be bidden. “Justin, sir! You must come to the main hall right away!”

“What is it?”

“Another stranger,” the guard informed him, “who says he’s from NIMH.”

Justin’s head snapped around toward Ian. “You said you were the only one. You said there were no others.”

Ian gave a mystified shrug. “How could there be? Everything I just told you was the absolute truth. There can’t be any others - at least not like me. I swear, I have no idea what this could be about.” He joined Justin in rising from his chair and following the guard out into the hall. “And I’m as curious to see what this means as you are.”

Justin and Ian hastened to the main hall, passing any number of other rats who’d also been alerted to the stranger’s arrival in spite of the late hour. There they found most of the Council already gathered, along with many others of the colony. In the middle of the floor stood a rat dressed in rags, its back hunched worse than Hugo’s and its head hidden by a hood. Justin stepped up onto the Council’s dais while Ian hung back, and addressed the cloaked stranger.

“Welcome to our colony. You say you are from NIMH?”

“I most certainly am.” At the sound of the newcomer’s voice, a warning bell went off in Justin’s head. Bad memories came flooding back like an incoming tide.

“Who are you?” Justin demanded.

“How could you forget so soon?” The stranger pulled back his hood to reveal a face that was twisted and deformed, but not unrecognizable.

“Oh, my god,” Justin muttered. “Jenner!”


	13. Jenner

Jenner smiled up at Justin with a grin of bygone malice. “So you do remember me after all! How touching!”

“But … you’re dead!”

“Oh, come now. It would take more than a small piece of metal in my back to kill me.”

“Why have you returned? On tonight of all nights?”

Jenner’s eyebrows rose in the dramatic fashion Justin remembered so well, and had come to loathe during the Rosebush Years. “Oh? What’s tonight?”

“None of your affair,” Justin caught himself, shooting a brief glance Ian’s way before locking gazes with Jenner once more. “What do you want, Jenner? And it had better not be what I think it is.”

“To claim my rightful place in this colony,” Jenner answered loudly so as to be heard by all ears, and confirming Justin’s fears. “As you can see, I am crippled, and every year my condition grows worse. I can no longer live in the wild, so I have returned to you, my own and only kind, to spend my remaining years in peace. Would any of you deny me this?”

“I would!” Justin called out. “You are a murderer, Jenner! When you killed Nicodemus, you gave up any rights you had with us. You’re not wanted here.”

“So you say. But does the rest of the Council agree with you?”

“You will find that everyone in the colony agrees with me,” said Justin.

“Now that just sounds presumptuous,” Jenner taunted.

“You had no part in what we’ve built here. In fact, you opposed the Plan from the beginning, and spilled the blood of your fellow rats to prevent it. You’ve no home with us.”

“Can’t you find it in your heart to forgive me for my past misdeeds? I am old, decrepit, crippled … and in desperate need of help.” He raised his arms, straining to lift them very high, putting his pathetic physique on full display. “Behold! I stand before you so much less than I was. Surely I pose no threat to you now.”

Justin shook his head. “You’ll get no sympathy from me, Jenner. I’m even tempted to throw you out now, and leave you to the mercy of the night animals of the valley. But I’m not cruel, so I’ll wait to have you expelled until morning.”

“You’re too kind.” Jenner’s tone was sarcastic, yet his arrogant confidence remained, and that bothered Justin. It bothered him very much.

He turned to his Captain of the Guard. “Brutus, take Jenner to the empty room on the second level. He’s not to be let out for anything. I want a guard by his door at all times.”

“Right, sir.” Brutus roughly grabbed Jenner and practically carried him away.

“Perhaps we should let him stay,” a Council rat named Neville suggested. “He seems in very great need, and perfectly harmless.”

Justin speared Neville with a piercing glare. “I can’t believe you said that. I know you were young when we moved from the rosebush, but surely you know your history - our history. Jenner murdered our leader, and he tried to kill me.”

“That was a long time ago,” said Neville’s fellow Council rat Prescott. “He is one of us, after all, and like he told us, he’s no danger to us. He needs help.”

Justin’s irate gaze moved from Neville to Prescott. “You were there the night of the move, when the crane came down due to Jenner’s sabotage. You saw the aftermath, and his bald attempt to seize power for himself. To take pity on him would be folly. Jenner may be crippled, but he’s still Jenner, and I won’t rest easy as long as he’s among us.”

“It is your decision to make,” Prescott conceded, clearly content to saddle Justin with this responsibility and not press for a formal vote, “and we will respect whatever you judge is best to do about this situation.” Neville and several of the others nodded in agreement, some more agreeable than others.

Justin nodded to the Council and escorted Ian back out into the corridor. When he was sure no one was around to hear them, Justin whispered, “I’m terribly sorry, Ian, but your departure might have to be delayed a day or two. I want to make sure Jenner doesn’t cause any trouble, and that will have to be my focus for now.”

“I understand fully. So, that’s Jenner? The Jenner, the one I’ve read about in your histories?”

“In the flesh and fur. He shouldn’t even still be alive. And his arrival now presents more complications than I care to contemplate.”

“What complications? Throw him out, and be done with it. If any rat of NIMH has ever earned your ultimate penalty of banishment, surely it’s him.”

“Apparently some of our esteemed Council feel differently, and seem inclined to show clemency. How could they have forgotten everything he did?”

“Good thing then that they’re leaving the final decision to you. Although I will agree that Jenner’s not much to look at these days. I think even I might be able to take him in a fight.”

“The body might be frail, but I suspect his treachery has not diminished one bit. His attitude just now suggests he’s up to something; I simply can’t imagine what it might be.”

“Well, if everything I’ve heard about this Jenner is true, I’ll want to stick around myself to see how things turn out.”

“Hopefully, they’ll turn out fine. I’ll talk to you more about the trip tomorrow, once Jenner’s out of our fur and on his way out of this valley. Good night, Ian.”

Halfway back to his chambers, Justin ran into Isabella, who seemed to be coming from that very place in an excited run. She looked to her husband with eager anticipation. “Is it true? Has another rat arrived from NIMH? After what Ian told us, I didn’t think … ”

“If only that were so,” Justin replied, heartbroken at having to dash her hopes. “It’s … it’s Jenner.”

“What?! But, that can’t be … ”

“I don’t know how, but he’s survived, although he’s in pretty bad shape. He’s asking for sanctuary.”

“You … you’re not going to agree to that … are you?”

“Of course not. Although some of the Council apparently beg to differ.”

“Then they’re fools! Jenner’s a murderer!”

“You don’t have to tell me, Izzy. The rat I saw just now may have been twisted and crippled, but that voice, and those eyes, and that assured air of entitled arrogance … those will haunt my dreams until my dying day. It is Jenner, of that I have no doubt. And his return cannot bode well.”

“Where is he now?”

“I had Brutus take him to the spare room on the second level, with orders that he be placed under constant guard until morning. If he has trouble in mind, we’ll not give him a chance to start it.”

“Did you search him? To see what he might be carrying?”

“No … no, I didn’t. But in his current state, he’d barely be a match for a ratbabe. Brutus can handle him.”

Isabella walked with him in silence as they headed back to their apartment. When they reached the door, she turned to him and implored, “Justin, throw him out tonight. Don’t wait until morning. I have a feeling something terrible will happen if Jenner spends the night in the colony.”

“If it were up to me alone, I might be tempted to do just that. But the Council … ”

“Forget the Council. This is your decision to make, not theirs. If Jenner means to target anyone here, it will be you. You must defend the colony. You must defend yourself.”

“I’m sure it will be all right. It’s only until morning. But, if it makes you feel better, I’ll double the guard on him, and ask a guard to stand watch outside our own door too. Okay?”

Isabella seemed about to argue, then gave a nod. “I suppose that will do.”

“That’s my girl!” Justin gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Now you head inside and get ready for bed, and I’ll go see to those extra guards.”

“As if either of us will get any sleep tonight,” Isabella muttered as she opened their door and crossed the threshold.

For his own peace of mind, Justin paid a visit to the room he’d assigned Jenner, comforted to see that Brutus himself and taken up a post there along with an equally formidable fellow sentry named Clancy. On his way back to his chambers Justin flagged down another couple of guards he passed in the corridors and bade them accompany him. With these precautions thus in place, he rejoined Isabella in their quarters.

“Satisfied?” he asked his wife after he outlined these security measures. “Jenner’s not getting in here, and he’s not getting out of his room either.”

“I guess,” she acknowledged, without sounding especially confident.

Soon thereafter, they nestled together in their bed, taking comfort in each other’s arms even as they both sought to overcome their anxiety and drift off to sleep. In the end it was Isabella who won that battle, quelling her troubled thoughts enough to retreat into whatever sanctuary slumber might provide her this night. Justin, however, could not sleep, and lay in bed beside his wife, staring into darkness.

Some time later, Justin looked up from his pillow and saw a glowing figure enter into his chamber from the hallway. He blinked, sure he must be seeing things, or else must be dreaming, then glanced at the luminous hands of the human watch that served as their wall clock. More than two hours had passed since they’d turned in for the night.

He returned his gaze to the apartment’s central area beyond the curtained bedroom alcove. The figure was still there, indistinct and patiently waiting.

Justin crept out of bed as quietly as he could. Isabella stirred, but did not wake. He passed through the curtains and joined the spectral figure, coming to stand before it but not believing his eyes.

“Nicodemus?”

The glowing ghost regarded him wordlessly, seeming to hover somewhere on the fringes of reality, there but not quite there.

“It … it can’t be!”

The phantom finally spoke. “Yes … it can be. On this night, the evil have come back from the dead, and so must the good.”

Justin glanced over his shoulder to where Isabella slept, wondering if he should go wake her, but the specter of the rats’ first leader anticipated him.

“Do not disturb her. My time here is short, and my words are for you only.”

Justin scrutinized the figure. Everything detail matched his memory perfectly - the flowing robes, the wooden staff, the thinly drooping whiskers, the eyes that seemed to see beyond this world. Even the voice, that whispering, mellow calm that spoke of infinite knowledge.

“Are you … real?”

“What is real?”

Justin reached out, hesitantly, until the tips of his paw came into contact with the ethereal fabric of the ancient rat’s robes. One brush was all it took to prove that the figure before him did indeed have substance, and was no mere dream figure.

He withdrew his paw. “Nicodemus … Jenner is here.”

“I know. But he must not succeed in what he seeks to do.”

“And what is that?”

“To steal the Stone.”

“Is this why you have come? To stop him?”

“Yes. I have come to reclaim the Stone for myself. Once in my possession, it will be beyond his reach. But we must act quickly. Even now, he schemes and seeks to set his plan in motion.”

“What does he intend? How do we stop him?”

“Give me the Stone, Justin, and Jenner will be denied, and all his plans will come to nothing.”

Justin stood clenching and unclenching his paws in uncertainty. “I … ”

“Time grows short. The Stone, Justin. I must have the Stone.”

“I … I’ll go get it.” Justin crept back into his bedroom and took the pendant from the small casket that he kept it in when he slept. Isabella stirred again, and this time did awaken.

“Justin? What are you doing up?”

“I … I’ll explain later.” Justin ducked through the bedroom curtains and handed the amulet to the specter of Nicodemus.

“Thank you, my friend.” The ghost clutched the pendant close to him. “You have helped me more than you will ever know. But I must hurry now. I am needed elsewhere. Again, thank you.” Justin watched Nicodemus step out into the corridor, closing the door behind him.

Closing the door behind him …

Why would a ghost need to leave through a door, or close it behind them?

And what of the guards standing watch outside? Would they have seen Nicodemus too? And how would they have reacted?

Before Justin could dwell overlong on the incongruity of what he’d just seen, Isabella parted the bedroom tapestries and came into the living room. “Justin! What have you done? You gave him the Stone!”

“Isabella … Did you see him too?”

“Y-yes. I saw the whole thing. Justin, why?”

“Why? Because he asked for it - and who was I to deny him? Would you have denied him?”

“Yes!” she cried, and Justin saw that Isabella was positively shaking where she stood. He put his paws on her shoulders to calm her.

“I had to give it to him … to keep it away from Jenner. It’s safe now. We’re all safe now.”

Isabella stared at her husband in distraught bewilderment. “Justin, what … what are you talking about? That was Jenner!”

Now it was Justin’s turn to stare at his mate in dumbfounded puzzlement. “That … that wasn’t Jenner. It was Nicodemus. Didn’t you see him? You said you saw him.”

“I was watching from the bedroom, but I was afraid to say anything. Why did you do it, Justin? Why did you give the Stone to Jenner?”

A look of shocked mortification crossed Justin’s face as a wave of dread realization swept over him. “Isabella, tell me exactly what you just saw.”

“I saw you hand the Stone to Jenner, and he thanked you for it and walked out.”

“No … no, it can’t be … ” Justin rushed to the apartment door and wrenched it open, startling the two guards standing watch out in the passage beyond, who didn’t try to hide their surprise at seeing their leader making such an unanticipated late-night appearance in just his fur. Ignoring his own state of undress, Justin barked at them, “Did you see anyone out here just now? Did anybody pass through the corridor, or come in or out of this door?”

The sentries shook their heads in unison. “No, sir,” one answered, “there’s been no one by here since you turned in for the night.”

Justin turned and raced into his bedchamber, hoping against hope that he might find the amulet lying undisturbed in its casket right where it should be. One glance shattered that slim hope, for the tiny chest sat open, its velvet interior empty and the revered jewel nowhere to be seen.

Justin hastily pulled on his tunic and buckled on his sword. “He must have used hypnosis or something on me,” he explained to Isabella as he rushed past her toward the hallway again. “I saw and heard him as Nicodemus. You stay here. I’m going to see if I can stop him.” He closed the door behind him as he exited, addressing the two guards. The Stone has been stolen. We have to find it!”

“Um … so, should we help you with that, or stay here and guard your wife, sir?”

Justin clenched a fist to his forehead, a tumult of frenetic thoughts tumbling through his mind. “Stay here,” he said at last, “and make sure she’s safe. I’ll see to the Stone on my own.”

Setting off at a half-run, Justin searched the passages, but there was no sign of Jenner, or of anybody else. It was as if the entire colony slept. Justin decided to check Jenner’s room on the second level.

When he got there, Brutus and Clancy stood outside the door as if nothing were amiss. “Is Jenner in there?” Justin asked.

“Of course, sir,” Brutus responded, surprised. “Where else would he be?”

“Let me see him.”

“Yes, sir.” Brutus opened the door and followed Justin inside to find a room that was quite small and quite empty. Brutus cast his gaze about him in rising panic. “Justin, sir, I swear that I didn’t let him out! Nobody’s been through that door, I swear!”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Justin said dejectedly. “There’s nothing you could have done.” He returned to the corridor, head bowed, only to find yet another guard waiting there with Clancy.

“Justin, you’re wanted in the main hall.”

“By whom?”

“By, uh … “ The guard nervously looked at his feet, as if he didn’t want to answer. “By our new President, sir.”

Brutus was wholly confused. “What do you mean, our new President?”

Justin knew exactly what the messenger meant. “Come with me. All of you.”

“Yes, sir.”

The four of them proceeded directly to the main hall, passing no one else as they went. Upon their arrival, they found It fairly dark inside, the chandeliers overhead dimmed to their overnight setting, but Justin could see Jenner clearly enough, standing on the Council’s dais in almost the exact spot from which Justin had earlier refused him admittance. Jenner’s figure was no longer withered and bent over, and he was garbed in the same magnificent violet and black robes he’d worn in his Rosebush days; where he had gotten them from stood as the least of this night’s mysteries.

The Stone hung around his neck, shining red even in the low light.

“I must admit I’m impressed,” Justin said bitterly as he and his escorts approached the raised platform. “Infiltrating the colony and seizing power in one night. You’ve actually outdone yourself, Jenner.”

Jenner eyed Brutus and the other two guards with dismissive disdain, opting to ignore them otherwise. “You made it easy, Justin. I only hope you will continue to cooperate so fully. ‘The Stone is the symbol of the Presidency, and he who wears it shall be President.’ Do you know those words?”

“I should,” Justin nodded. “I wrote them. They’re part of our Constitution - although how you would know that I can’t imagine.”

“You’d be surprised what I know.” Jenner fingered the amulet. “I should remind you, before you try any heroics, that since you voluntarily gave me the Stone, I am now quite legally your President.”

“Legally?” Justin scoffed. “You stole that amulet from me, through deceit and treachery! There was nothing legal about it!”

“Funny, that’s not how I remember it. But it’s irrelevant, since I’m pretty sure the Constitution doesn’t provide for any exceptions in such cases. I wear the Stone; I am now President.”

Brutus and the other two guards stepped forward to confront Jenner. “You heard Justin! Return the Stone to him, or we’ll make you!”

“Oh will you now?” Jenner’s grip on the pendant tightened, and the three guards fell to their knees, clutching at their throats. “Tell me, how fond are you of breathing?”

“Jenner!!” Justin snapped. “Release them!”

The black-robed rat regarded the former President. “Of course - once you agree to tell all the others to accept my rule. I do not wish to have to resort to … other means to keep the peace.”

“You’ll never pull this off, Jenner. The Stone was never meant to be used this way. You can’t impose your will on the entire colony.”

“What do you know of how the Stone was meant to be used? But in any case, I won’t have to impose my will through the Stone, once you formally acknowledge me as President.” Jenner nodded at the suffocating guards. “Your promise, Justin; your friends are about to run out of oxygen.”

Justin balled his fists at his side. “I’ll do as you ask,” said Justin, “but only to avoid bloodshed. Now let them go.”

“As you wish.” Jenner’s paw moved away from the amulet, and the guards collapsed onto their sides, sucking in deep, ragged breaths.

Jenner ran his gaze around the darkened hall. “Now that I am in charge, I’ll be wanting to make some changes.” His eyes narrowed as he gave Justin an icy stare. “Yes, some very big changes.”


	14. The New President

Jenner’s unexpected takeover shocked the colony. Even before word spread of this sinister turn of events, Justin and Isabella found themselves turned out of their own chambers, Jenner claiming them for himself and forcing the couple to spend the rest of the night in the sparse spare room where Jenner himself had been confined. In the morning Jenner had Justin call a formal address in the main hall, with attendance mandatory for every rat in the colony. The fields lay empty that morning, and even the boiler was left unattended, as every single member of their community packed into the hall.

In a voice defeated and resigned, Justin told them that Jenner was now their leader. They gasped as one, not wanting to believe it, but no one spoke out against Jenner, for as long as he wore the Stone, he stood as the legal holder of the colony’s highest office, elected or not. Justin implored everyone to cooperate with the new President. What he failed to mention, because it did not need to be said, was that anyone who disobeyed would be punished.

As Justin gave his speech, Jenner stood silently off to one side of the Council dais, a cruel smile on his lips. After it was over, he ordered Justin to come to his chambers.

It was a hard blow to Justin’s dignity to have to report to Jenner in a room which had been his and Isabella’s only the night before, but the deposed President grit his teeth and dutifully accompanied his sworn enemy to the well-appointed suite.

“What do you want of me, Jenner?”

“Close the door and have a seat.” Jenner was all false hospitality. Justin did as bidden. “That was a very good speech. One of your best. I enjoyed it immeasurably.”

“Stop it,” Justin said harshly. “You didn’t call me here to compliment me, so don’t waste my time.”

“Why not? It’s my time to waste now. But, as you wish.” Jenner’s friendly mask fell away. “I have great plans for the rats of NIMH, and I hope we can bury our past differences and work together on them. You’ve got a good mind, Justin, and the rest of the colony looks up to you. You’re just so damned … admirable. My rule here would go so much more smoothly if we can be seen cooperating. I would like to have you on my side in the future.”

“I don’t work for murderers.”

Jenner frowned. “Strong words to be using on your leader.”

“You can wear the amulet, and you can call yourself President, and you can make us do what you want us to do under pain of physical punishment, but you’ll never be my leader. You’ve got all the power you ever wanted. Why do you ask for more?”

“I didn’t expect you to understand.” Jenner’s tone was cold. “You think power was my goal, but it is only a means to a much higher aim. Now that I have the Stone, I can lead us to greatness!”

“What kind of greatness?” Justin asked suspiciously.

“We shall be the masters of the Earth.”

“And what about the humans?”

“Humans!” Jenner scowled. “What of them? With the Stone, we will be able to overcome them. We can exterminate them completely!”

“It would never work,” Justin argued. “The Stone isn’t that powerful. You would be leading the rats of this colony to certain death!”

“What do you know of the power of the Stone? You wore it for four years, yet you never even comprehended its true nature. I hear you used it to kill a bear.” Jenner roared with laughter. “To kill a bear! Child’s play! You could have moved mountains if you had desired. You could have turned the sky to fire, or stopped the world from turning!”

Jenner thumped a forepaw against his chest. “A moment’s exposure to the Stone’s power, and my disfigured body was renewed and made young again. I recognized its full potential the very first time I laid eyes on it, and that’s why I was willing to kill to have it.”

“The rats of NIMH don’t want war, Jenner. They just want to live in peace, away from humans.”

“You’ve been telling them what they want for so long that they don’t even know what they want anymore,” Jenner sneered. “We grovel in the dirt, fighting just to survive, while man spreads his foul stench across the globe, destroying the planet and perverting everything he touches. We can rebuild an Earth without humans, where the environment isn’t spoiled and all creatures live in harmony together. You talk of peace, Justin, but we can never have peace as long as humans walk the Earth. Mankind doesn’t deserve to rule world - we do! And now that I have the Stone, I can and will make that happen.”

“You know what your problem is?”

“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”

“You’re lazy, Jenner. The humans evolved their intelligence over a period of millennia, and we, as a new species, must evolve also. You don’t want to bother; you want to take over now, but we’re not ready. Perhaps someday we shall rule this world, but it will be because we have earned that right, not because we picked a fight with humankind that we can’t possibly win.”

“So you oppose me?”

Justin stood. “If you want to commit suicide yourself by fighting humans, be my guest. But if you try to drag the rest of us with you, then yes, I must oppose you.”

“Very well. If you won’t join me, you will serve me. You can start now by bringing me a nice, hot lunch. And if you know what’s good for you, you will bring it without delay.”

Justin opened his mouth to refuse, but the power of the Stone was working on him, and the words that came out were, “Yes, sir.” He turned to go, but Jenner called him up short.

“You forgot to bow to your President, Justin.”

“Never!” Justin cried. “You can make me serve you, but I will never bow to you!”

“Oh, no?” The Stone around Jenner’s neck began to glow, and Justin stepped toward him, even though he struggled not to. When mere inches separated them, a sharp pain stabbed through Justin’s abdomen, and he doubled over.

“You call that a bow?” Jenner said lightly. “Perhaps you should kneel instead.”

The pain spread to Justin’s legs, and he fell to all fours. “That’s better. Oh, by the way, I just thought I’d mention that you have a beautiful wife. Isabella, yes? I remember her from the rosebush. Pretty little thing back then, enough to catch my own eye, and clearly smitten with you since her school days. But she’s no infatuated adolescent any more. I met with her this morning before your address to the colony, and got her to agree that she deserves so much more than a mere washed-up former President. She has consented to divorce you, and marry me.”

“She couldn’t have!” Justin gasped.

“Oh, I can be very persuasive.” Jenner fingered the pendant. Justin struggled to get up so he could strike Jenner, hit and punch and pummel him, but another fiery stab in his stomach kept him on his knees.

“We’ll raise a family, she and I - the start of a long line of leaders, worthy of the title of President. And perhaps even more than that. Emperor? King? Those have nice rings to them.”

He regarded his sprawled adversary with sadistic bemusement. “Are you comfortable down there, Justin? That’s where you belong: down on the ground, groveling for your existence. Isn’t what what you always wanted? Isn’t that what moving to Thorn Valley was all about?”

The glow from the Stone died away. Justin slowly climbed to his feet, feeling gutted and drained by the twin effects of the psychic assault and the revelation of Isabella’s involuntary infidelity.

Jenner looked him over and smiled. “Now go get my lunch. And after that you can clean the bathroom. It’s filthy.”


	15. The Black Day

Ian was called before Jenner the next day.

The former human had been doing his best to keep his head down and call no attention to himself, staying to his room and mulling over how this dark turn of events would impact, among many many other things, his efforts to get back to NIMH for the lifesaving treatments he so desperately needed. Thus, when the summons came to report to Jenner’s chambers, Ian was filled was disquiet.

He was surprised, upon his arrival, to find Justin in the quarters of the new president, dressed in clothing even plainer than that normally worn by the field workers. The simple vest, with not so much as a work shirt underneath, clearly marked Justin as the lowest of the low in the colony now - which was still a step above what Ian’s worst fears had been.

“Justin! Thank heaven you’re all right. I thought Jenner might have … well, I haven’t seen you since the meeting yesterday.”

“No, he didn’t kill me.” Justin busied himself with arranging plates of food on Jenner’s table. “He made me his personal slave, so now I’m waiting on him hand and foot. I never realized scrubbing out a bathtub could cause such a backache.” Justin straightened up painfully. “Where have you been keeping yourself?”

“In my room, laying low. Still trying to get things figured out, as far as my own situation goes.” Ian paused. “I’ve heard rumors that Jenner plans to make Isabella his wife. Is that true?”

Justin nodded morosely. “And there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it. He hasn’t even let me see her since yesterday morning. All the classes have been cancelled, and wherever he’s keeping her, he’s making sure it’s never any place I happen to be.” He looked to Ian. “Why are you here?”

“Jenner summoned me.” Ian glanced around; he and Justin were the only ones in the room. “Where is our fearless tyrant anyway?”

“Out somewhere. He doesn’t exactly consult with me on his schedule.” Justin stepped closer to Ian and lowered his voice. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you with your trip to NIMH. If you’re still planning on that, you’ll have to try and make it there yourself.”

“Pity - I was starting to look forward to having two of your guards coming along with me after all. But why is everyone just going along with Jenner? He’s only one rat, and even if he is wearing the Stone, they can’t possibly have accepted him as President over you for that reason alone. Just how did he get the amulet anyway?”

“He tricked me into giving it to him. Made himself look and sound like Nicodemus, somehow.”

“Well, that is a neat trick. I assumed it had to be something like that. But why can’t you and the guards just take it back from him? If he stole the Stone through deceit, no one in their right mind would accept him as their legitimate leader.”

“It’s more complicated than that, Ian. We tried, but we couldn’t; he’s too powerful. Jenner’s tapping into the Stone in ways I never thought possible. I think he’s using it in a way it was never meant to be used. Nicodemus and Mrs. Brisby and I only ever drew upon its power it for good, to create and to save lives and not to destroy.”

Ian glanced at the bearskin rug. “I know a bear who might argue that.”

Justin didn’t even acknowledge Ian’s questionable witticism. “Jenner’s heart has been black for a long time. I honestly didn’t imagine a soul like that could bend the Stone to its will.”

“Nicodemus must have suspected he could,” Ian countered, “since in his own writings he worried about what would happen if Jenner got his paws on it.”

“Well,” Justin lamented, “now we get to find out.”

“So, how will you regain the Presidency? I mean, we can’t just give Jenner this win and leave it at that, can we?”

“I’m torn what to do,” Justin admitted. “Jenner has made terrible plans that could lead to the destruction of our race. He must be stopped; I’m just not sure how. Get the Stone away from him, somehow. But that’s for me and the others. You must leave here as soon as you can, Ian - and not only because you’re running out of time due to your physical condition.”

“But I might be able to help you,” Ian protested. “It’s the least I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing! Listen - if Jenner finds out the truth about you, he’ll kill you as sure as I’m standing here. He hates humans with a passion, and as long as you remain at the colony you are in danger. You must - ”

Justin was interrupted by the opening of the door. Jenner entered the chamber, followed by Hugo. The new President eyed the food displayed on the table and said, “Very good, Justin, but you forgot the wine. Go fetch it.”

Justin grimaced. “Yes, sir.” As he left, he gave Ian one last glance, telling him wordlessly to be careful.

Hugo seated himself at the table and began sampling the food. Jenner gave the hunchbacked rat a disapproving stare. “I’m hungry, sir,” Hugo said, continuing to stuff his mouth. “I’m just having a little.”

“Oh, all right.” Jenner an appraising eye to Ian. “So, you’re the new doctor? Ian, isn’t it? Hm - not what I was expecting. You’re so slight in stature that I’d almost think you never had the NIMH treatment at all. And just how old are you anyway? You look like you’re about ready to drop dead.”

“You’re … too kind, sir,” Ian shot back, trying not to sound too snide.

“No matter. They say you’re the best doctor in the colony, so I’m taking you as my personal physician. And our resident inventor here tells me you’ve also invented a weapon - ”

“With my help!’ Hugo cut in.

“Yes, of course. A weapon which has come in quite handy to the colony guards. When you’re not seeing to my medical needs - which I suspect shall be minimal, now that I wear the Stone - I want you to work full time with Hugo on developing more new weapons.”

“May I ask what for?”

“Certainly.” Jenner rubbed his forepaws together. “To help us exterminate the human race.”

It took Ian some moments to regain his speech. “Exterminate .. the … human race?”

“Ambitious, I know,” Jenner said with a wicked smile, “but don’t tell me it can’t be done. I’ve already heard enough from Justin about how we’d be outnumbered and such.”

“Outnumbered?” Ian mused. “Let’s see, now - several hundred rats against several billion humans. I hate to say this, but Justin does have a point.”

“Justin’s a spineless toadie,” Jenner sneered. “But the humans can be defeated, I assure you.”

“How?”

“You let me worry about that. You and Hugo worry about making more weapons.” Jenner came closer to Ian. “It has also come to my attention that you have only just arrived from NIMH. I want you to tell me everything - everything! - that you heard and saw there. I want to know exactly what the humans are up to. I’d also like a detailed account of your trip here. And I … ” Jenner stopped, aware that Hugo was making gurgling noises. “Shut up!” he snapped at the black rat.

“Hold on,” Ian said, moving to Hugo’s side. “I think something’s wrong with him.” Ian looked down the distressed rat’s throat, but could see nothing lodged there. “Well, he’s not choking on anything. Hugo, what’s the matter? Can you speak?”

Hugo gasped and rolled his eyes, then slumped forward. Ian looked in his eyes and saw that all life had left them, then felt for a pulse and found none. “He’s dead,” Ian said in disbelief.

“What killed him?” Jenner demanded.

“Hard to tell. Could have been a heart attack.” Ian examined Hugo more closely, then sniffed at the food on the table. “He’s been poisoned.”

Jenner drew his sword. “That meal was meant for me! And Justin brought it here!”

“Now, I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions.” But Jenner was already out the door.

Ian stood struck by indecision, unsure how deeply to entangle himself in the political affairs of a community he was soon to leave, perhaps never to return. 

Then he shook himself and started after Jenner. If he abandoned Justin now, what would even be the point of sneaking off to NIMH to extend his life? Would the colony be worth coming back to as long as Jenner remained in charge?

Jenner had a good head start by this time, forcing Ian to run just to keep from losing sight of him, and Ian could see where the other gray rat was headed.

Justin was in the kitchens choosing a vessel of wine and a clean goblet when Jenner burst in, brandishing his sword. All the other rats toiling at the stoves and ovens froze and looked up from their work at this violent intrusion. “You!” Jenner pointed at Justin. “Try to kill me, will you?” The sword came down, and Justin jumped aside, narrowly missing being split in two. The dropped wine bottle smashed on the tiles, splashing its contents everywhere, while the goblet clattered and rolled across the floor.

“What are you raving about?” Justin cried.

“Don’t pretend! I know you did it!” Jenner swung his sword again, and then again, with Justin only barely managing to get out of the way each time. The blade crashed through shelves and counters filled with glass and clay jars and dishes. Finally Justin turned tail and and fled into the main hall through the service entrance, with Jenner in hot pursuit, and Ian and some of the others following behind them.

With school cancelled, the hall stood empty except for a couple of the guards. Justin jumped off the platform and turned to face Jenner, who stopped at its edge. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Justin yelled up at him.

“Hugo is dead!” Jenner raged. “He ate the food you brought me, and it was poisoned!” The sword pointed at Justin. “You put it in there!”

“Hugo? Dead?” Justin gaped at this news. “I didn’t … ”

Jenner leapt at Justin, who lunged backward and scrambled across the top of the nearest table. Seeing that Jenner was right behind him and that death was only moments away, Justin snatched up a bench and swung it at his pursuer.

It hit Jenner full in the face. He staggered back a few steps and the sword fell from his grip onto the floor. Justin raced back toward the kitchens, wanting to put as much distance between himself and Jenner as he could. As he neared the Council stage, Justin felt a fire sweep through his body, and he collapsed.

Jenner climbed to his feet, wiping blood from his nose as the Stone in his forepaw shone brilliantly. “You didn’t think I’d let you get away that easily, did you?” he said triumphantly. Picking up his sword, Jenner went to where Justin lay crumpled on the floor and stood over him. “I let you live … I show you mercy … and this is how you repay me?” Jenner snarled. Justin looked up helplessly as the sword was raised for the kill.

Standing on the Council dais, Ian closed his eyes, realizing at that moment just how truly he’d come to regard Justin as a friend and ally, in spite of their differences. If he’d had some type of weapon, he might have jumped to Justin’s defense, in spite of the expertise Jenner showed with his blade. But Ian had nothing, not so much as a rolling pin or frying pan grabbed from the kitchen, and neither did any of the cooks and bakers standing with him. Whatever happened would happen without their interference.

Suddenly a voice rang in his ear. “No, Jenner! Don’t kill him! He’s innocent! I did it! I put the poison in your food!” Ian opened his eyes and saw Isabella standing beside him.

Jenner froze as he glared at her. “You?” Gradually he lowered his sword and stalked toward the stage, seeming to forget all about Justin. He stepped up onto the dais to face Isabella. “Why?”

“Because,” she said, “what you’re doing is wrong. You can’t force an entire society to bend to your will. It’s evil to make us think only what you want us to think and make us do what we don’t want to. I did it for the sake of the colony.”

“But … I offered to make you my wife. In time you could have had anything you wanted. With me, you could have achieved greatness!”

Down on the floor, Justin still lay partly under the Stone’s sway, unable to rise. “Isabella! Get away from him!”

She went on, quite calmly, “I love Justin, not you. You could have forced me to marry you, but you never could have made me happy. I would kill you before I would let you break my vows.”

“So … ” Jenner seemed indecisive a moment. “It hurts me to do this,” he finally said, and passed his blade very quickly through Isabella’s abdomen.

Justin screamed, finally released from his imposed paralysis, and rushed forward to catch his wife as she rolled off the stage onto the floor. Cradling her in his arms, he eased her down so that her head rested on his lap. He whispered her name, his voice trembling. Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked up at him.

“Justin,” she breathed, “don’t give up. You’re the only hope we’ve got.” Then Isabella closed her eyes for the last time. Justin pressed his face against her shoulder and let his tears stain the fur there as pained sobs wracked his body.

Ian tried to step forward, but Jenner held him back with his bloodied sword. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I might be able to save her,” Ian said.

“She has tried to murder the President,” Jenner stated flatly. “The penalty for that is death. Let her be.”

“But … ”

Jenner touched the tip of the sword to Ian’s throat. “Leave her alone.”

Reluctantly, Ian stepped back, feeling as helpless as he had ever felt in his life, as either a rat or a human.

Jenner gestured to the two guards. “Take Justin up to the gate and wait there for me. I’ll be along momentarily.” They led Justin out of the hall, the new widower too grieved to resist.

“Take care of her body,” Jenner ordered Ian. “I’ll hold a funeral tomorrow. Don’t get any ideas about trying to revive her. I want her to stay dead.”

“You got nothing to worry about.” Ian’s tone was one of disgust. “I doubt I could save her now anyway.”

“Good.” Jenner stepped off the platform and swept out of the hall.

The guards were holding Justin just inside the lowered portcullis as ordered. When Jenner approached, Justin broke away from them and rushed at his wife’s murderer. Jenner held Justin at bay with his sword, resorting to the threat of cold, sharp steel over the persuasive powers of the Stone for the moment.

“You’d better kill me now, Jenner.” Hateful fires smoldered in Justin’s red, puffy eyes. “Because if you let me live, I swear it will be the death of you!”

“You are nothing more than a thorn in my side, one which must be plucked out. That’s why I am exiling you.” Jenner prodded Justin closer to the gate and gave the guards the signal to open it, the Stone now starting to faintly glow. Outside, night was coming on.

“Will you at least have the decency to give me my sword?”

“No, Justin.” Jenner reached out to tear the simple garment off Justin’s back. “I will not even let you have anything to wear. Go be like one of the ordinary animals you’ve always seemed so fond of. You have until morning to be out of the valley - if you survive that long.”

Wordlessly, Justin turned and walked out into the Thorn Valley dusk. The whirring of insects filled the air, and an owl hooted in the distance. Justin heard also the thump of the gate coming down behind him, but he kept going without so much as a backward glance.

Jenner watched from behind the portcullis lattice as his rival disappeared into the darkness. When the lone figure was no longer in sight, he said to the guards, “This gate is to be kept closed at all times. Open it only when I tell you to.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jenner started back down into the colony. He had the destruction of humankind to plan and worry about, and if he had to fulfill that destiny without a wife at his side, so be it.


	16. Escape

On the morning after Justin’s expulsion from the colony, Ian walked up to the guards at the gate. “Well? What are you waiting for? Open up so I can go out.”

“Sir?” The guards looked Ian up and down, and nearly laughed out loud. The old rat was so laden with arms and baggage that he could hardly move. A massive pack was strapped to his back, and a sword was hooked to his belt, as was a crossbow with a supply of bolts. In one forepaw he carried a sort of hollow spear, attached to the backpack by a long thin hose, and in the other an enormous cloth sack, the contents of which could only be guessed at. The whole arrangement was so awkward as to be comical.

“Let me out,” Ian repeated with authority.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t do that. Nobody leaves without Jenner’s permission. Those are our orders.”

“I’ve got his permission.” Ian thumbed at the box on his back. “This is a new weapon Jenner wants tested, and with Hugo dead, that leaves me as the chief arms developer around here, so if you don’t mind … ”

The talkative guard scratched his head. “I wasn’t told about this.”

“I’m telling you, you dolt!” Ian tapped his foot impatiently. “Jenner’s a very busy rat. You don’t expect him to see to every minor detail personally, now, do you?”

“Uh, I guess not, sir, but … well, don’t you even have a note? I should see some kind of written authorization.”

“I can go get it if you insist … but Jenner won’t be very happy about this stupid delay.”

“Uh … well … ”

“In fact,” Ian said sharply, “I am certain that he will be most unhappy … so much so that he might look for some more cooperative guards. He’s already thrown Brutus into detention for failing to fall in line. Are you two looking to join him?”

“In that case, sir … ” Both guards hurried to raise the gate for Ian.

“That’s more like it!” Ian dragged himself and his load across the threshold. “I expect to be out for most of the morning. This needs to be tested well away from the colony, in case anything goes wrong.”

“Uh, what is it?”

“Flamethrower. And if it blows, we don’t want it burning down any of the crops. Now, I trust I’ll have an easier time getting back in upon my return?”

“Yes, sir.”

“For your sakes, I hope so.” Ian started off toward the stream as the guards lowered the portcullis behind him.

Outside the portal, Ian glanced left and right. No workers labored out here on this morning to tend or water the crops, and no guards patrolled to keep birds away. Jenner had the colony on lockdown, regular routines forgotten and ignored as most of the rats hunkered down in their quarters as Ian had done, striving to avoid calling attention to themselves as they came to terms with this unwelcome new state of affairs. And with Justin banished, Isabella and Hugo dead, Brutus imprisoned for insubordination and Jenner himself storming about the place in moods foul and ruthless and coldly calculating by turns, a paralysis of indecisive fear gripped the settlement from top to bottom.

Ian had recognized the opportunities presented by such a dire situation, having seen much the same happen over and over again in the human world, and seized upon that opening to equip himself and browbeat the reluctant guards into letting him pass. They bristled at having Jenner as their new commander, but with the usual chain of command shattered by the removal of Justin and Brutus, and with the constant low-level influence of the Stone working on every rat in the colony, the two sentries didn’t want to risk angering their new President by delaying a vital weapons test - just as Ian had anticipated.

Ian started off south along the stream’s bank, putting distance between himself and the guards as quickly as his burden allowed. Once sure he was safely out of their sight, Ian changed direction to head up out of the valley. He also quickened his pace; although his load was quite heavy, it was not so heavy as he had made the guards think, nor his physical condition quite so decrepit. The weather that morning was perfect for walking, and in no time at all Ian was out of the valley and on his way into the forest that lay beyond.

His plan was simple: find Justin if he could, and then travel to NIMH. It seemed to Ian that the deposed President had only one ally outside the colony to fall back on, and would make a beeline straight to Mr. Ages rather than remain in the valley with little hope of impacting the situation there. Justin might also try to reach out to the Brisbys, having mentioned them with fondness any number of times in Ian’s presence. And then there was the site of the old colony under the rosebush. If he couldn’t find Justin in any of those places, then he would go on to NIMH alone, and hope he could make it there on his own.

Ian’s going was slow, and he was still in the depths of the forest when night fell. Not wanting to be out after sundown, he found a little nook formed by a bush growing at the base of a tree and shucked off the flamethrower pack, laying it down on the cool, moist earth alongside his burlap sack of supplies and the sword and crossbow. Drawing several leaves about him for cover, and keeping the weapons close, he stretched out on the ground, shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He awoke long before dawn, but stayed in his nook until after sunrise to ensure that all of the night predators were certain to be back in their lairs and dens for the day. Ian stood, and wished he hadn’t; every muscle in his body ached from the long march of the day before. He winced as he strapped on the belt and backpack and picked up the sack. Forcing his pained legs to obey, he continued on his way to the farm.

Ian reached his destination around midday. The Fitzgibbon’s farm was a big place, and the first time Ian had been here on his way from NIMH in search of the rats, he’d been at a loss where to begin looking until an impatient shrew had directed him to the old derelict machine where Mr. Ages made his home. Having been there once already, Ian made straight for the wreck of the farm vehicle and climbed up into it, leaving the flamethrower and sack behind on the ground.

Halfway up his climb into the rusted, dilapidated machinery, a worrisome thought struck Ian. Jenner was supposed to have been dead, the entire colony had assumed that to be the case, and yet there the power-hungry gray rat was, in possession of the Stone and in control of the colony. What if Jenner had been here first before coming to Thorn Valley, and had done something to Ages? Not that the old, disfigured Jenner would have been much of a physical match for any rat or mouse, but he could always have taken Ages by surprise, with a blade between the ribs or across the throat. Ian had seen how adept Jenner was with a blade …

Thus it was that Ian came to stand before the closed door to Mr. Ages’ residence and laboratory with dark misgivings tumbling through his head. Steeling himself, he raised his paw and knocked, unsure what to expect.

No answer came from within.

Knowing from his previous visit that Ages was hardly fast on his feet, and likely to be deeply involved in some scientific pursuit or other, Ian rapped on the door a second time, hoping this attempt might prove more fruitful.

When nearly a minute went by without any response, Ian leaned forward and put his ear to the door to see if he could make out any sound of movement from within. Hearing nothing distinct through the thick wood, he reached out to try the handle, ear still pressed to the door.

And that’s when the door abruptly swung inward, nearly causing Ian to topple forward onto the apron-adorned white mouse who stood across the threshold from him.

“Who are you, and why are you disturbing me?” the crotchety old mouse demanded.

Ian straightened. “Has it really been so long that you don’t recognize me? I was only just here earlier this summer.”

Ages adjusted the thick glasses that seemed perpetually on the verge of flying off his snout, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny before widening them in surprise behind the chunky lenses. “Ian? Ian, is that you? But, whatever happened to you? You look … ”

“Old?” Ian finished for the smaller rodent. “That’s a story in itself. Have you seen Justin, by any chance?”

“Justin? What on earth would Justin be doing here? Whatever’s going on?”

“That’s another couple of stories’ worth on top of mine. May I come in?”

“Oh, yes, of course, of course. But don’t touch anything.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Ages stepped aside, giving Ian room to duck his head and enter through the low door. Inside he was able to straighten again to his full height; Ages, being a mouse of NIMH, had often received rat visitors here during their time in the rosebush, although Ian guessed larger mammals seldom came to call on the mouse scientist these days.

Ages studied Ian’s garb and weapons. “I see you must’ve found your way to Thorn Valley all right.”

“I did, although a fox almost gobbled me up along the final stretch. I’d have been a goner if the colony guards hadn’t intervened on my behalf. Justin and the others were very welcoming. Well, mostly. Rogan’s a bit of hard case, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Hm, hrm. And the weapons?”

Ian rested his paw on the hilt of the blade belted at his side. “This sword’s not mine. I’m carrying it for Justin.”

“Why would you be carrying Justin’s sword?”

“Again, that’s a story.”

“Then I do wish you’d get on with it and tell me. And what’s with the crossbow?”

“That one most definitely is mine. Wasn’t about to hike here from Thorn Valley without a weapon I knew how to use myself.”

“They … they didn’t throw you out, did they?”

“No, I escaped.”

“Escaped? Why would you need to escape from the colony? What’s going on there?”

Ian paused. “Jenner’s back.”

Ages stared at the prematurely-aged rat, aghast. “Impossible! Jenner’s dead! I saw him die myself!”

“You and half the rosebush colony. And he looked about half dead when he showed up two days ago. But he tricked Justin into giving him the Stone, used it to restore himself to full health, and now he’s taken over the colony. Any who dare oppose him are … well, he’s done a pretty good job of seeing to it that no one does oppose him.”

Ages flopped down onto a stool, his mustache working back and forth in high agitation. “This is bad. This is very very bad.”

“You don’t know the half of it. I … guess I should tell you the rest.”

Ages eyed Ian with tortured expectation. “The … rest? It gets worse?”

Ian nodded. “Jenner murdered Isabella, and banished Justin from the colony. That’s why I’m here. I thought he might come to you, since you’re about the only friend he has outside Thorn Valley.”

The mouse narrowed his eyes once more. “You’re not … working for Jenner, are you?”

“If I were, do you imagine I would have just told you any of this?”

“Yes. Yes, true. There is that, I suppose.”

Ian helped himself to a seat on a divan opposite Ages, far enough from any of the mouse’s ongoing experiments and projects so as not to give his companion conniptions. “That’s the long and the short on what’s happening with the colony. As for myself, it seems the treatments I received at NIMH, far from prolonging my lifespan, have had the opposite effect, and drastically so. I’m aging at a vastly accelerated rate - so much so that I may only have months to live, or perhaps even weeks.”

Ages’ features drooped with pangs of genuine grief. “Oh, my boy, I’m so very sorry.”

Ian gave half a laugh. “In another week or two, I might be the one calling you ‘boy.’ But let’s get back to Justin. I really thought I’d find him here with you, and I don’t think there’s any way I could have overtaken him. Do you know where else he might have gone? The Brisbys, perhaps?”

Ages shook his head. “I can’t imagine him wanting to burden any of Mrs. Brisby’s children with such dark tidings. Are you sure he even left Thorn Valley?”

“No. I’m not. But Jenner sent him out unclothed and unarmed, and I don’t think he’d likely hang around in the wilds of that valley in such a state. I brought along some clothes for him as well, if we can find him. They’re outside in a sack, along with a few other supplies and provisions.”

“Very thoughtful of you, my boy … er, my friend.”

“I thought so. I also brought along a flamethrower.”

“A flamethrower? What in the blazes for?”

“Short answer: to get me out of the colony, since I used it as a pretense for a weapons test to fool Jenner’s guards into letting me out.”

“A weapons test? Why would anyone think you would be testing weapons?”

“Ask me sometime about the electric crossbow I invented. It might also come in handy for us if Dragon stick his nose into our business.”

Ages chuckled dryly. “Yes, I suppose it might at that. As for Justin, I do know one place in particular he might be, if he did head out this way. Shall we leave right now?”

Ian eyed all the dancing flames and bubbling vessels around them. “If you can be pulled away from whatever you were doing here.”

“Not a bother, not a bother.” Ages hobbled from one bunsen-style burner to another, extinguishing them or turning them down to low flames to keep any experiments from getting ruined. “Let’s be off. Just let me grab a scarf here, and a lantern too … ”

Ian followed Ages down out of the harvester, not begrudging the old mouse’s slow progress at all after his own strenuous trek from Thorn Valley. Once down on the ground, Ian strapped on the flamethrower (eliciting an offhand, grumbled comment of “I’d really like to have a look at that” from Ages) and hefted his travel sack as he fell into step behind his guide. Ages led him away from the farmhouse and fields (and, mercifully, from Dragon, who didn’t seem to be around in any case) and toward the run-down and disused mill that sat at the edge of a stream near the farm’s edge. Ian wondered idly if it had inspired the rats in their own decision to build their colony by a stream to capitalize on the water power it would provide.

“From an old abandoned farm machine to an old abandoned mill,” Ian mused. “I’m sensing a theme here.”

“Yes, and let’s hope Farmer Fitzgibbon doesn’t see fit to get rid of either one anytime soon,” Ages said from in front of the rat. “Although I guess I could do without the mill far more easily than my home. There were several entrances to the rosebush colony, which spread out much farther than the bush itself. One of those is at the mill. That’s where we’re going now.”

The mill had been falling apart for years. The good news was that its crumbling infrastructure afforded countless cracks and fissures to accommodate mice and rats; the bad news was that any part of it could give way at any time, even to a footfall as light as a rodent’s. And for a rodent carrying a flamethrower …

“We’ll go down this way,” said Ages, indicating a hole in the foundation that seemed to avoid the worst of the unstable ruins. “That should take us where we want to go.”

The concrete foundation wall of the mill, now cracked and pitted, reared up on their left as they descended, but they kept going down even after it ended, coming at last to a dark, dank passage somewhere below the deepest part of the mill. The drip and flow of running water sounded in Ian’s ears although it was too dark for him to see anything in detail. Ages paused to light the lantern he’d brought along, and now Ian could see that an underground watercourse wound its way directly under the mill. “No wonder it’s falling apart,” Ian mused.

“This is one of the outlying tunnels of the old colony. We came this way whenever we had to mount any water operations.”

“Water operations?”

“Yes. Boats aren’t exactly cutting-edge technology, you know. Now come along, come along!”

They walked down a long passage that began to look less natural and more constructed the farther they went, until at last they reached a door in one wall. “This is Nicodemus’s study,” Ages explained. “He built it halfway between the main colony and the mill - very out of the way. It escaped intact even after NIMH dug up the rosebush. Nicodemus valued his privacy even more than I do … although it made it a real pain whenever we had to come see him. Anyway … ”

Ages pushed at the door, and it swung inward slowly. All seemed dark and lifeless within, until a familiar voice called out, “Who is it? Who’s there?”

“Justin!” Ian called out, not wanting to startle the deposed President in case Justin had managed to arm himself somehow and was of a mind to lash out first and ask questions later. “It’s me, and Mr. Ages!”

The two of them stepped fully into the room, and found Justin seated on the floor of the bare chamber with his back against one wall. Now he stood, squinting at the sudden brightness of the lantern, and half-stumbled toward them. “Ian? What are you doing here?”

“Trying to find you.” Ian took off his backpack and belt and put down his sack. “And you didn’t make it any easier. Why are you hiding down here?”

“I felt like being alone.” Justin looked to the mouse. “Mr. Ages. Has Ian told you about what’s been going on at the colony?”

“Everything, my boy, everything. I am so very shocked and saddened to hear of your own loss especially. Isabella was as fine a rat as any I’ve ever known. I am so very very sorry for you.”

“Thank you.” Justin knelt down and shared a hug with the old white mouse, sniffling back a sob, then stood and looked to Ian. “How are things at the colony?”

“Jenner’s come down hard. It’s practically martial law. Most of the guards obey him without question, which makes it even harder for those who would oppose him. Brutus resisted, so Jenner had him arrested and appointed a new Captain of the Guard. Nobody can leave the colony without Jenner’s permission. I had to lie my way past the guards at the gate to get out.”

Justin took the news with a long face. “What … did they do with Isabella’s body?”

“There was going to be a funeral yesterday,” Ian replied. “I left before it was held. That distraction may have helped me make a clean getaway.”

Justin drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “I … I should have been there.”

“In case you’d forgotten, Jenner had you banished, and would probably have killed you if you’d stuck around. He’s too strong. There’s nothing you could have done there. Here … ” Ian dug into his sack. “I brought you some clothes. Nothing fancy, but I thought you’d appreciate it. I also have your sword.”

“Thanks.” Justin took the tunic from Ian and held it up in the lamplight, then gave a wistful smile. “My old Guard Captain uniform. Now this brings back some memories. Wonder if it still fits?”

“Guess you’re about to find out. Jenner threw all your clothes out of your old quarters, and I just grabbed what I could off the pile. I think he planned on burning it all.”

“Well, that’s rather stupid,” Justin commented as he pulled on his old uniform and fastened the sword belt around his waist. “Clothing’s too scarce to be so blithely destroyed like that.”

“Jenner’s not thinking in such terms,” said Ian. “He’s not even having the crops tended. A few more days of that, and they’ll start dying off all over again, and worse than they ever did from last month’s drought.”

“That fool!” Ages spat. “He’ll doom the entire colony!”

“I got the impression he doesn’t care about the colony,” Ian told them. “He’s gearing up for war, and I think sometime soon he’ll be leading all the rats of NIMH up out of Thorn Valley to take on the humans head to head.”

Ages’ eyes widened. “That’s … that’s insane.”

“That does seem to be the general consensus. But as long as he wears that damnable Stone, no one’s inclined to argue very hard with him … or to win any such arguments.”

Justin blinked in the lamplight. “He truly will lead us all to our destruction. He’s got to be stopped!”

“If you can figure out a way to do that, I’m all ears. But I may remind you that I also have my own situation to worry about as well.”

Justin blinked again, then shook himself as if bringing himself back to the present. “Yes, yes, of course. I’m sorry, I should have asked. How are you feeling, Ian?”

“Dead tired and aching all over from hauling all of this with me from Thorn Valley. I’ll need a good night’s rest before I can think about anything else.”

Justin eyed the overlarge backpack. “What’s that?”

“Flamethrower.”

“Flamethrower?”

“That’s what I said,” Ages weighed in.

“Why didn’t you just grab something from the armory on your way out? A compression rifle or electric lance would have been a lot easier to carry, and probably more practical too.”

“Jenner had all of that under lock and key - or at least under heavy guard,” Ian explained. “Remember, he’s gearing up for war, so the colony’s weapons are very much on his mind. I only got away with this because it was a prototype from the workshops I was pretending to take out for a test.”

“Did you bring any food?”

“Just a little. I figured there’d be plenty of opportunity for foraging - here on the farm, or anywhere else I might happen to find myself.”

“Ah.” Justin glanced between the mouse and rat, each aged and gray in their own individual and respective way. “You said you told Mr. Ages everything, but did you tell him … everything?”

“About me? I might have left out a few, ah, personal details about my time at NIMH. And my time before NIMH, if you take my meaning. I didn’t deem it relevant to the immediate situation.”

Now it was the mouse’s turn to glance back and forth between the two rats. “What are you two jabbering on about? What haven’t you told me?”

“Ian’s right. It’s nothing we need to go into now. Perhaps someday, if he feels comfortable sharing on this matter, he will.”

Ages regarded Ian with new suspicion. “Justin … do you trust this rat?”

Justin stood assessing the former human wordlessly, perhaps a few moments longer than was fully tactful.

“Well, that was an awkward pause,” Ian deadpanned, “and such a ringing endorsement.”

Justin smiled slightly in spite of himself. “I can always trust in Ian to make light of just about any situation, no matter how serious. Yes, Mr. Ages, I trust him.”

This seemed to decide the mouse. “Well, then, I suppose that’s good enough for me.”

“So,” Justin continued, addressing Ian, “are you still planning to return to NIMH?”

Ian shrugged. “I really don’t have any choice, do I?”

This startled Mr. Ages anew. “Return to NIMH? What are you talking about? What foolishness is this?”

“It’s my accelerated aging I was telling you about earlier,” Ian explained. “I clearly received an entirely different treatment than the rest of you, but we know there is a way to extend rats’ lifespans - and that way can be found at NIMH. So I have to go back there, if I want to have any chance at all of saving my life.” Ian turned to Justin. “And I was hoping I could convince you to join me - to make up for those two guards you were going to assign me.”

“What? Me?” Justin showed clear surprise at this suggestion. “With everything that’s going on with Jenner? I’m needed here too badly. Mr. Ages and I have got to figure out some way to stop him.”

“As long as he bears the Stone, I think that’s a tall order, and maybe futile. And if Jenner does start a war with the humans, we need to make a contact on the human side of things to let them know most of the rats of NIMH only want peace, and that Jenner is solely responsible for anything bad that happens.”

Ages exploded. “Tell NIMH? About us? You can’t! They would destroy us!”

“They’ll find out soon enough if Jenner has his way. Then we’ll all be destroyed for sure. If I can convince my friends at NIMH that we’re peaceful and don’t want war, then we might have a chance.”

Ages stared at Ian in bewilderment. “Your … friends at NIMH?”

“Yet another story for another day.” Ian looked back to Justin. “So, what do you say?”

Justin shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ian. I can’t run away from this situation, not even to help you. My place is here, to stand against Jenner however I can.”

Ian sighed. “I figured you’d say as much, but I had to ask. Either way, I’m leaving in the morning.”

Justin gestured at the sack Ian bore. “How much food have you got with you?”

“Food’s not really my concern. I can always find plenty of scraps along the way, and there are a lot of berry bushes between here and NIMH. Remember, I made it all the way here on my own, so I should be able to make it back too.”

“If you haven’t waited too long,” Justin added soberly.

“Yeah. If I haven’t waited too long.” Ian glanced around them. “So, do we just hide out here until morning?”

“What time is it now?” Justin asked. “I lost all track of day and night when I came down here.”

“Mid afternoon,” Mr. Ages replied, “or early evening, by now.”

“Still plenty of daylight left?”

“A fair amount,” the mouse assessed.

“Good.” Justin took up Ian’s sack, and motioned the other rat to strap on his flamethrower once more. “I know you’re weary, Ian, but if you’re up for one more modest walk, I know a much better place where we can spend the night. Ah, Ages, do any of the Brisbys still happen to live in their old summer home?”

“All of them, last I heard. None have taken husbands or wives yet … although I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.”

“Excellent. They need to be warned about Jenner at the very least, even if they can’t accommodate us for lodgings. I’m not sure how they’ll feel about unannounced house guests dropping in, but I think it’s long overdue that I pay them a visit.”


	17. Shelter in a Summer Home

It turned out to be a longer walk than Ian would have preferred, but in the end they got where they were going.

They left the mill by the same tunnel they’d entered, Mr. Ages then parting ways with the two rats to return to his own home. Justin led Ian along the bank of the brook all the way off the farm proper and into the nearby woods. The sun set during their foray, but the late summer evening still allowed them to reach their goal before night fully fell.

“This will be my first time ever visiting the Brisbys’ summer home,” Justin told Ian as they strolled along on their modest journey, the deposed rat President carrying the sack slung over his shoulder to partly relieve Ian of his burden. “I’m … not entirely sure how they’re going to receive us.”

Ian digested this. “Two questions then. How do you know the way there, and why wouldn’t they receive you warmly? Jonathan was your friend, and you all helped move the Brisbys’ home when it was in danger.”

“Well, I’ve never visited,” Justin clarified, “but Jonathan did point it out to me from a distance, several times. And as for the warmth of our welcome, well, we last saw each other four years ago. Mrs. Brisby has sadly passed on since then, lacking the NIMH genes of her husband, and her children will all be grown, as you no doubt gathered from Mr. Ages. They only met me fleetingly, and may barely remember me at all. Much will depend on what their mother told them about the rats of NIMH after we moved to Thorn Valley. If they begrudge us for the secrets we kept from them, well … ”

“Your words fill me with such confidence. Perhaps we’ll be sleeping in the mill’s ruins after all. Or maybe I’ll just collapse outside their door and take my chances roughing it in the open.”

At last, with the crimson-streaked sky to the east ushering out the last of the day, they came to stand before a tall oak, with a cleverly-camouflaged hovel situated between its roots. “Well, here goes.” Justin leaned forward and rapped on the dwelling’s door, then stood back to await a reply.

A cream-colored female mouse in a simple brown dress answered almost at once, amidst shouts and other voices coming from deeper within the abode. A single glance at the rat standing upon her threshold made her jaw drop and her eyes go wide. “It’s … it’s Justin, isn’t it?”

He nodded without flourish or fanfare. “Yes. Uh, Teresa, unless I miss my guess?”

“Cynthia. I’m Cynthia.”

“Oh. Sorry. Uh … ”

More voices sounded from behind Cynthia. “Well, who is it? Anyone important?”

“If they want any dinner,” added another, “tell them we don’t have enough!”

And then Cynthia was flying forward, wrapping her arms around Justin’s neck and burying her face in his shoulder. “I always knew you’d come back, someday! Me and Timmy, we knew you would!”

A burly male mouse appeared in the doorway. “Well, don’t just … ” His words trailed off as he beheld the sword-bearing rat in a guard uniform hugging his younger sister. And as with Cynthia, the sight struck him momentarily speechless. Then, regaining his voice, he called over his shoulder, “Teresa! Timmy! Get out here!”

“But dinner … ” came an unseen appeal from within the hovel.

“Never mind dinner! This is more important!”

In very short order, Justin had received more warm hugs from the second Brisby sister, and shaken paws with the two brothers. All were, as Ages had said, now well beyond childhood, with Martin and Teresa well into adulthood, and Timmy and Cynthia past adolescence as well.

Only then did any of them seem to notice Ian. “Uh, who’s that?” asked Martin. “Is he a NIMH rat too?”

“He most certainly is, if of a slightly different stripe,” Justin answered. “Allow me to introduce Ian, a more recent arrival to our colony.”

“The one Mr. Ages warned us about?” Timmy wondered aloud.

Ian raised an eyebrow. “Warned? I see my reputation precedes me.”

“But … ” Cynthia scrutinized Ian. “He’s old. I thought NIMH rats didn’t grow old.”

“Cynthia!” Teresa hissed. “Mind your manners!”

“That’s all right,” said Ian. “I’m a second-generation model, and they haven’t worked out all the bugs yet.”

This elicited giggles from Teresa and Cynthia, as well as a wry smile from Timmy, so Ian went on, “Besides, Nicodemus was a NIMH rat too, and he was downright ancient. Of course, I’m only half as ancient as he was, so I’m only half as wise too.”

“Not by half,” Justin opined with a smirk.

“So,” Timmy asked Justin, “what brings you here? It’s been … a long time.”

“I’ve got news. A lot of it, in fact. I, um, gather I interrupted your dinner, and I know you haven’t got enough to share … ”

“Oh, we were just saying that,” Teresa assured the two rats. “We’ve got plenty to go around. Come in, and join us! And don’t you dare say no!” She cast an eye Ian’s way. “Although you might not be able to bring all your stuff in with you. Just what is that anyway?”

“A flamethrower,” Ian said.

Martin looked taken aback by this, while Timmy exclaimed, “Really? Cool!”

“What happens if it blows up while you’re wearing it?” Martin asked.

“Then I die a painful and agonizing death.”

Cynthia pondered this. “‘Painful and agonizing’ is redundant.”

Ian shrugged off the cumbersome weapon and grinned at Justin. “I like these mice! Now let’s go eat!”

Ducking their heads (and then keeping them ducked due to the low ceiling), Ian and Justin were ushered into a simple homestead inviting in its coziness. Here and there the two rats noted small details to suggest that the creatures dwelling here were no ordinary mice; whether these had been put in place by Jonathan before his death, or by his intelligent offspring in the years after, the visitors could only guess.

The table was clearly of a size to accommodate the four siblings and not much more than that. “Don’t have many dinner guests over?” Ian surmised.

“No, not really,” Martin replied without elaborating.

Ian and Justin hunkered down on low footstools as the mice shuffled place settings around to make room for them at the table, if just barely. Contrary to what the background conversation upon their arrival might have led them to believe, there was plenty of food to go around - a hearty vegetable stew suitable for any appetite, and fruit drinks to wash it down that Timmy boasted about brewing himself.

“We dug deeper and farther back under the tree for more living space,” Teresa explained at one point, “once we realized none of us would be moving out anytime soon. We couldn’t be living all on top of each other like when we were kids, or we would have throttled each other by now.”

“I’m a little surprised none of you have moved out and started homesteads of your own,” Justin observed. “Aren’t there other mice around here?”

“Not like us,” Martin bit off.

“Yeah, we’ve sorta learned to keep to ourselves,” Timmy added. “Seems to work out better that way.”

Justin couldn’t leave the subject alone. “Your father never let that stop him, and ended up with a fine family, from what I see here.”

“Our father’s dead,” Martin retorted flatly. “And so’s our mother. It’s just us now.”

Justin put down his unslurped spoonful of stew, taken aback by the undercurrent of hostility in Martin’s voice.

“Why didn’t you ever come to visit us before now?” Teresa asked. “Mother was very fond of you, and missed you very very much. She had always hoped to see you again, even if only once, even if only briefly. But you never came back.”

Justin bowed his head, abashed, while Ian looked on, merely uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. You were never far from my thoughts, and I did consider reaching out to you, many many times, about visiting you here, or inviting you to Thorn Valley. But things there were always so busy, demanding my attention … and with Mr. Ages here to help you out with anything you needed, it didn’t seem like a top priority. When he sent us the news of your mother’s passing, I was devastated, as short a time as I had known her. I’m deeply sorry to have disappointed her … to have disappointed you.”

“So, why have you come back now?” Cynthia asked.

Justin laid his paws on the table on either side of his now-neglected soup bowl. “I almost hesitate spoiling this tasty meal for the rest of you, but now that you’ve asked, I might as well say it. Jenner’s back.”

Now there were four more forgotten bowls of stew as the mice gaped at him. “Jenner?” Martin repeated. “But, he’s dead!”

“Mother saw him die!” Teresa concurred. “She told us she did!”

Justin sighed. “We all saw him die, all of us who were there that night. But it turned out his wounds were not mortal ones, and he’s been living here in the woods between the farm and Thorn Valley these past four years. Well, two nights ago, he showed up at our colony, stole the Stone from me, used its powers to heal himself, and now he rules all the rats of NIMH.”

“The Stone?” Teresa exclaimed. “The same one mother used to save us when our winter home was sinking into the mud?”

“The very one,” Justin affirmed glumly. “And Jenner’s tapped powers in it we could only have dreamed of.”

“How did you get away?” Timmy asked.

“Jenner deposed me, then banished me. I sought out Mr. Ages because I couldn’t think where else to turn. But I realized you all needed to be warned too, so … here I am.”

“Warned?” Martin echoed. “Warned about what? If Jenner’s all the way in Thorn Valley … ”

Justin shook his head. “He won’t stay there. He was spouting all kinds of insane talk about starting a war with the human race, just like he did sometimes back in the rosebush, and now that he’s got the Stone, he’s convinced he can act on those plans. This farm is the closest human presence to the valley; if he starts his war anywhere, it will be here. And if he does come, you all need to stay very well hidden and not call attention to yourselves. Chances are he’ll be too busy to concern himself with you, but you must take no chances.”

Martin drew himself up in his chair. “If that blackhearted villain comes anywhere near the farm, we’ll make him regret it, just like you and our mother did!”

“No,” Justin said sharply. “No, he’s too powerful. Nearly the entire colony obeys him now, through the power of the Stone, including most of the guards. They’d fight on his side. You must avoid him, at all costs. Stay clear of him and anything he tries to do, and if he comes for you, run - run as fast as you’ve ever run in your lives. I want you to promise me that.”

Cynthia stared at the deposed rat President. “Justin, sir, you’re scaring us.”

“You should be. Jenner is more dangerous than I can possibly tell you. He’s … killed again, and might not be finished yet, with humans or rats - or mice.”

“Who did he kill?” asked Timothy, aghast at the mere idea of murder.

Justin hesitated, clearly not wanting to answer. It was Ian who said, softly, “You should tell them, Justin. They deserve to know.”

The other rat slowly nodded, and then said in a very low voice, “It was my wife, Isabella.”

The Brisby siblings reacted almost by instinct, rising from their places as one and going to Justin to embrace him in a group hug of warm comfort and stricken sobs. Even Martin, the stalwart boss of the family, joined in, lending his arms and tears to the consoling. Justin, his own eyes growing wet, returned their gesture as best he could while Ian sat by, moved to silence.

When they all drew back, Teresa said, “You must spend the night here, both of you. It’s almost dark outside, and you can’t be about on the farm or in the woods. Our beds are too small for you, but we can push this table back here and make room on the floor for you … maybe get you some blankets, although they’ll be small for you too … ”

“Whatever you can provide will be fine,” Justin assured her. “Thank you.”

Ian stood and helped with the shifting of the furniture. “Well, looks like tonight these rats of NIMH will be sleeping with the mice of NIMH!”


	18. The Fitzgibbon's Farm

Rats and mice rose early the next morning, to a dawn full of dew and sunshine and a fresh scent all around them at the forest’s edge. Timmy and Teresa whipped up some pancakes with maple syrup to see off their visitors.

“We eat a little differently than other mice around here,” Timmy explained.

“Or any mice just about anywhere, I’d guess,” Cynthia added as she tucked into her portion along with everyone else.

“We’re used to milled grains and maple syrup in Thorn Valley,” Justin said, licking some of the thick, sweet liquid from his whiskers. “I’m glad to see you’ve managed such amenities for yourselves here as well.”

“Do you think we’ll ever be invited there?” Martin asked. “To Thorn Valley, I mean?”

Justin caught the undertones to the mouse’s question. “To visit … or to live?”

“Either one.”

Justin sighed. “I suppose it’s long overdue. But I’m afraid it will have to wait now. With Jenner in charge there, Thorn Valley is no place you or any decent soul would want to visit.”

“Will you be going back there?” asked Teresa.

“If Jenner doesn’t show up here at the farm, then yes, I suppose I’ll have to head back there eventually. To confront him, if nothing else.”

“We could go with you.”

Justin gave Martin a hard stare. “No. This isn’t your fight, and it’s far too dangerous.”

The male mouse returned the stare with defiance. “If it’s your fight, then it’s our fight too - especially if it’s against Jenner. We’re not helpless, you know.”

Timmy added, “Even if we didn’t do any fighting ourselves, we’re smart and resourceful; we are NIMH mice, after all. We could scout for you, provide material support, things like that.”

To cut off this line of discussion, Justin said, “Before anything else, I have to see Ian off to NIMH. He’s got no time to waste, and must be on his way this very morning. And after that, I’ll head back to Mr. Ages for us to consult with each other. I’ll not be deciding anything until I’ve had a better chance to discuss my options with him.”

“And if Jenner does show up here?” asked Timmy.

“That’s one of the things we’ll be discussing.”

Shortly thereafter, Justin and Ian were back outside the Brisby homestead, the gray rat shrugging on his flamethrower while Justin took up the provision sack. Teresa gave voice to what all the mice were thinking. “Will we see you again?”

“I don’t expect to be leaving the farm anytime soon.” Justin flashed a grin of encouragement. “I think you’ll be seeing me around for a while yet.”

With a few final embraces and pawshakes and plenty of waves, Justin and Ian took their leave of the Brisby mice and set off for the farm. After they’d been walking for some time, Justin asked, “How are those muscles of yours holding up, Ian?”

“Better than yesterday, but still complaining.”

“Better them than you.”

“Hey! Quit stealing my material!”

Justin gave a snerk. “Were you always this irreverent, even as a human?”

Ian took some time in answering. “No. No, in all honesty, I wasn’t. Much more your typical science dweeb, truth be told. But ever since waking up as a rat, I feel like I’ve fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole, and I’m still falling. Intellectually, I know this is all real, and I’ll never be human again, but emotionally, it still feels quite surreal, and when you feel like you’re living in a dream, you’re freer to just say whatever comes to mind. Hope you don’t find me too insufferable.”

“Not at all.” By this time they had left behind the brook and were nearing the stalks of the corn field. Justin drew his sword. “We’ll take a short cut through here. Might want to have that flamethrower ready, just in case. Dragon has been known to creep about in these fields.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” Ian took the bulky weapon’s nozzle in paw, tensed to release a stream of fire at any feline foolish enough to attack NIMH rats.

No cat showed itself, but halfway through the corn field, Ian caught sight of movement off to his left. “What the heck was that?”

Justin had seen it too. “Probably one of the local animals foraging for food. Nothing unusual about that.”

A few dozen steps later, they glimpsed another figure to their right, flitting in between the stalks before vanishing again, and both rats froze in their tracks. “No,” Justin muttered, “it can’t be. Not already … ”

“Tell me that wasn’t a rat wearing a colony guard uniform.”

“I can’t tell you that, because that’s exactly what it looked like to me too. We must see what this is about.” Justin broke into a jog toward the hidden farm. Skirting a rabbit hole in their path, they emerged from the crops mere feet from the farm’s equipment shed. Its doors were open, numerous small shapes moving in and about it. They focused their gazes on one that seemed to be at the center of all the activity. “Good god,” Ian murmured, “it’s Jenner!”

“How could he have gotten here so fast?”

“He must have left right after I did.” Ian studied the scene more closely. “And it looks like he brought half the colony along with him. Let’s get out of here before he sees us.”

“Probably too late for that,” Justin said. “They might already have spotted us out in the field. But I have to find out what he’s doing here. He’s got all our rats working so openly that they’re bound to be discovered. You stay here and keep out of sight, as much as you can. I’ll be right back.”

“Well, that’s rather optimistic of you.” Ian took the sack from his companion and ducked low to the ground, trying to make himself as invisible as he could. Justin drew a deep breath and strode toward his sworn enemy.

The bustle around the shed came to a halt as Justin approached. Jenner, standing atop a paint can to more easily supervise the other rats, turned to see what everyone was staring at. If he was at all shocked or surprised to see his rival standing there, he hid it well. “So, you’re still alive.”

“You won’t be, not for much longer, the way you’re running around here. Don’t you realize that farmer Fitzgibbon will see you?”

“Oh, him. There seems to have been a terrible accident last night.” Jenner put on an air of mock sorrow. “He carelessly left pans of cyanide lying around the house. The fumes killed him and his family as they slept. Their cat, too. Such a tragedy.”

Justin gaped at him. “You … you didn’t!”

“I did,” Jenner said coldly. “This farm belongs to us now - our first victory of many more to come.” He jumped off the can. “Soon we will control the entire town … and then the whole country! The humans aren’t prepared to deal with something like us. We can wipe them out totally!”

The Stone around Jenner’s neck began to glow, and he drew his sword. “It’s a shame you won’t be around to see the glorious outcome.” Justin tried to back away, but the Stone’s power held him rooted to the ground. He looked at the other rats, his friends and neighbors from the colony, but none came forward to help.

“I threw you out of my life once, Justin. You should have stayed out. When I exiled you, I was counting on the wild animals of the valley to take care of you for me. Now it appears I shall have to do it myself.” Jenner lifted his sword to strike. Justin held his breath.

A tiny object whizzed through the air and buried itself in Jenner’s sword arm. He dropped his weapon and shrieked in pain. The spell broken, Justin spun round and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

After yanking the crossbow bolt out of his arm, Jenner looked up through tears of pain and rage to see Justin escaping into the field. He grasped the amulet in his forepaw, directing his will through it, and a wave of fierce red light chased after the fleeing figure.

The corn stalk to Justin’s left exploded, fragments of vegetation spraying out in all directions. He veered behind another stalk, shielding him from Jenner’s view, if only for the moment. Directly ahead, he saw Ian frantically waving at him from the lip of the rabbit hole. Justin dropped to all fours, scrambling toward that shelter for all he was worth.

“Go after them!” Jenner screamed at the rats around him. “Find them and kill them!”

Ian ducked down out of sight, and Justin dove headfirst into the warren after him, landing in a tumble after a short fall. “Nice shot, Ian,” he said, grabbing up the sack and sprinting forward into the darkness.

Ian was right on his heels. “Still think I need glasses?” he quipped.

“I’ll never call you clumsy again.”

Ian chose that exact moment to trip, sprawling head over tail with the flamethrower pack as a painful barrier between him and the bare earth. Justin wheeled around, helping the former human back to his feet. “You’d better ditch that. It’s slowing you down.”

“Good idea.” Ian shrugged off the pack, leaving it behind them in the dark tunnel as they resumed their blind run. “Maybe they’ll trip over it. Serves them right if they do.”

And after that, they saved all their breath for running.

By some miracle, they heard no sound of pursuit from immediately behind them. They also saw and heard no sign of any rabbits in the warren; either it was an old abandoned system of tunnels, or else the current residents had scattered before Jenner. The earthen network branched and twisted, and the two rats followed it haphazardly, choosing whichever turn seemed most likely to deliver them the farthest from their enemy when they finally did emerge again.

That emergence occurred some time later, in the roadside woods quite far from the equipment shed where Jenner had his forces concentrated. Sheltering in a patch of tall wild grass, the two fugitives sat gasping after their exertions.

“Well,” Ian forced out at last, “what now?”

“Jenner’s killed the farmer and his family. He poisoned them in their sleep.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Now that it’s begun, we might not be able to stop it.” 

“I’m … forced to agree with you. One thing’s for sure: it’s too late to consult with Mr. Ages about this. They may already have him in custody - or worse. Ian … do you really think your friends at NIMH might be able to help us against Jenner?”

“I don’t see what other choice we have. Jenner moved sooner than we ever could have imagined. We’ll not be stopping him ourselves.”

“I suppose I could head back to Thorn Valley. Now that Jenner’s here, he’ll not be exerting his influence over the colony. I could take it back, maybe take the Brisbys with me, fortify it against him … ”

“Until he returned there with the Stone, only to take the colony away from you again. You can bet he’s brought every able-bodied fighter with him to engage the humans, which would leave you overseeing a community of females and children - and probably not even all the females, if some of them are here with Jenner too.”

Justin teetered on the edge of indecision. “They’ll be scared. They could use me there to ease their fears.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Ian sat in silence for some moments. “It’s your call, Justin. But you know what I’d encourage you to do.”

Justin nodded. “Go with you to NIMH.”

“Perhaps I’m just being selfish. But I might add that, if we’re to reach out to humans for help against Jenner, having the President of all the rats of NIMH on hand to argue our case might carry a lot more weight than if I tried to do it on my own.”

“Former President. Deposed President.”

“The one true and proper President, as far as I’m concerned.” Ian gave Justin an imploring look. “Either way, I’m out of here. NIMH is my destination, whatever else happens. And I’m leaving now. But it would be nice to know I won’t be leaving alone.”

“What will you tell your human friends? About Jenner? About all of us?”

“Whatever I have to.”

Justin set his mouth in a grim line. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He sat considering the situation for several moments more, then stood, shoving the supply pack at Ian. “Let’s go. If the humans are going to learn about us, I’m going to be there to make sure they learn only what I want them to, and nothing more.”

Ian grinned, climbing to his feet. “You’re the boss, boss! Now let’s hit the road, before these old bones of mine give out on me altogether.”

Even as Ian and Justin set off for NIMH out by the road in front of the farm, Clancy, the new Captain of the Guard, was making his report to Jenner. “We’ve searched all over for them, sir, but there’s not a trace of ‘em. They must have gone underground.”

Jenner sat massaging his arm in bad temper. He had used the power of the Stone to heal the wound, but the spot where the bolt had struck still itched. “Of course they went underground!” he snapped. “We all saw them disappear down that rabbit hole. Didn’t you follow them along the tunnel?”

“There were too many branches and twists and turns, sir. But we did find this.” Clancy nodded at one of his fellow guards, who stepped forward bearing the flamethrower. “They cast this off so they could move faster, and to trip us up in the dark.”

Jenner glowered at the weapon prototype. “I told you to get me them, not this hunk of junk! Does it even work?”

“Um, dunno, sir.”

Clancy and his underlings were spared further verbal abuse by the arrival of yet another clutch of guards, these bearing with them something to improve Jenner’s mood considerably. “Sir! We found this one for you, just as you ordered!”

Jenner turned, then grinned at the sight of Mr. Ages feebly struggling in the grip of his two captors as they dragged him forward to stand before the robed rat. “Ah! The mouse of the hour! At least some of you can do your jobs right!”

“Jenner!” Ages spat. “Justin warned me you were back, and might be on your way here. Just what are you trying to do, running around in the open like this? You’ll all be caught, and me along with you!”

“Getting caught won’t be a worry, now that I’ve killed the farmer and his family.”

“What?! Oh no. No no no. You couldn’t have … ”

“Couldn’t I? But let’s talk about you. My first choice for personal physician just deserted after planting a crossbow bolt in my arm, so I now have a vacancy that needs to be filled. And I wager you’ll fill it quite nicely. You’re now my doctor, Ages, and no arguments.” Jenner fingered the pendant. “Not that I think I’ll really even be needing a doctor anymore, but even so … “

“What about Barnes? Why can’t he be your doctor, instead of rousting me out of my home for this indignity?”

“Barnes is a rat of the colony, and as such stands as part of our military corps - a position for which you are neither suited nor trustworthy. Therefore, I deem - ”

Jenner’s words trailed off as a shadow passed over him, and over all of them. Gazing skyward, they beheld a giant winged form swooping down upon them and setting down practically on top of Jenner, with mighty flaps that kicked up dust and forced the onlookers to squint into the resulting wind.

“The Great Owl!” Most of the rats drew back, afraid of the giant bird, but Jenner only looked up at it casually.

“Well, well, well. What are you doing out in the daylight?”

“The Stone, Jenner!” The Great Owl’s voice was menacingly loud, and the other rats retreated even further. “Give me the Stone!”

“No,” Jenner sneered.

“You have used it as we agreed,” the Great Owl boomed, “and now it must go back to its maker. Give the Stone to me!”

“I will not! The amulet is mine now. I am President of the rats of NIMH, and by law the Stone is the symbol of my station. You cannot have it, so go hide in your tree where you belong, you old fool.” He turned his back to the owl in a gesture of dismissive disrespect.

A massive talon knocked Jenner flat on his back. The claw pinned him to the ground, nearly covering him completely.

“Can you give me one reason why I should not kill you now?” For the first time since the Stone had come into his possession, fear filled Jenner, welling up inside him unbidden and in spite of his assured arrogance, rendering him incapable of answering the owl’s question.

The great head lowered toward him and the beak opened, hooking around the chain, and the pendant came off over Jenner’s head. “I shalln’t kill you,” the owl said. “I will let you live out your miserable life to its natural end, denied the power you so wrongfully sought to seize for yourself.” The great bird released Jenner, turned its back on him, and spread its wings to fly away.

Jenner sprang to his feet, fury overcoming his fear. A nearby guard wore one of Hugo and Ian’s electric crossbows; Jenner rushed over to him, grabbed the weapon out of the startled guard’s paws, aimed, and fired.

The bolt sunk into the back of the Great Owl’s head. For a long moment the majestic creature froze and became a statue, still as marble. Then, almost in slow motion, it fell forward. The ground shook when the giant bird hit it. The owl lay there, unmoving, the bolt in its head still connected by a wire to the pack on the flabbergasted guard’s back.

“He’s killed the Great Owl!” another guard cried out in amazement.

Jenner ran to the mountainous corpse and liberated the amulet from its beak. Draping the Stone back around his neck, he climbed up onto the owl’s body and held up his arms for attention.

“My friends, you now see the power we have. Even without the Stone, I was able to slay the Great Owl, the mightiest and most feared creature of the forest. With the Stone, we will be invincible! No force on Earth can stop us!”

Jenner shook his fists in the air. “We will destroy the humans and rule the world!”


	19. The Journey Begins

Setting out from the farm, Justin agreed to let Ian lead the way, since Ian had made the trip from NIMH only a few months earlier, whereas Justin’s escape had taken place over ten years before, and had included many wanderings before settling in the rosebush. Ian chose a route which would keep them always close by human-developed areas. That way, they could feed off the humans’ food with no worries about going hungry.

They traveled for quite a few days, skirting roads and highways, farms and campsites, and the fringes of several large towns. The constant walking wore on them, especially Ian, but they kept themselves well fed, and their frequent foraging ensured that their travel sack remained stuffed to the top with extra provisions. They spent their nights in the company of small woodland animals when they could, but more often than not the strange travelers were refused shelters in the burrows, and Ian and Justin had to sleep on the ground in the open.

One night they settled down in the shadows of a highway. It was going to be another night of sleeping in the open, and much to their dismay rain seemed likely. Both rats still sniffled from lingering colds caught during the last time they’d had to sleep in the rain, and the prospect of another wet night was bleak indeed. Ian gathered some twigs and dead leaves to build a small fire.

“Could’ve used that flamethrower right about now,” Ian mused as he struggled to start the blaze. “Flint and tinder are so last century.”

“We want to light a campfire, Ian, not burn down the forest,” Justin mused from where he sat looking on. “Want me to try? I’m still not sure you’ve quite caught the knack of that yet.”

“Well, I may be a former human, but I was never a boy scout. No merit badges for this rat, I’m afraid. Sure, knock yourself out.”

Justin took the flint from Ian, and soon had the fire going strong. The two rats stretched out on the ground, soaking up the warmth of the flames. The days were growing noticeably shorter, and the nights were developing a chilly aspect, even if it still was technically summer.

Justin had been unusually quiet during the journey thus far, mostly talking only when spoken to. Ian supposed it was his grief over Isabella, and the situation at the colony that had him so preoccupied, and left Justin alone. On this night, Justin broke his silence.

“Ian, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and one thing’s been bothering me.”

“Only one thing?”

Justin ignored Ian’s quip. “Everyone in the colony hated Jenner, but as long as he wore the Stone, they obeyed him.”

Ian lay on his back, looking up at the dark sky and hoping the rain would hold off. “So?”

“Well … I always just assumed I was a good leader. I mean, I seemed to be well liked, and everybody did as I said, but … well, I’m starting to wonder if it was just the power of the Stone that made things that way. If I hadn’t had the amulet, would everyone in the colony still have obeyed me?”

“Obeyed you? You mean like Rogan, and Prescott, and some of the others who took you on at the Council sessions every chance they could?”

“Ian, I’m trying to be serious here.”

“So am I, and from everything I’ve seen and heard, open dissent was all over the place at the colony. You hardly held unchecked power of the sort Jenner’s grabbed for himself.”

“And yet I always seemed to get my way, at least on important matters. I always assumed it was my ability to argue my case the most logically, but what if it wasn’t? Was I really a good leader, or just another tyrant?”

“Of course you were a good leader, Justin. How could you doubt it?”

Justin wasn’t convinced. “But, since I wore the Stone all the time, I could have been imposing my will upon everyone else, controlling their thoughts without even realizing it.”

“You’re not wearing the pendant now,” Ian pointed out, “and you’re certainly not controlling what I think and say. You were … you are … a good leader. The other rats followed you because of your abilities, not because of some piece of jewelry.”

“How can I be sure of that?”

Ian looked hard at Justin. “Even after Jenner took the Stone, some of the others stuck by you. Brutus let himself be locked up before he would forsake his loyalty to you. And then there was … ”

“Isabella.“

“Yeah. Isabella.” Ian huddled into a sleeping position. “Take my advice, Justin, and kick those doubts right out of your head. They’re not worth losing sleep over.”

“But I gave him the Stone,” Justin insisted. “Isabella even implored me to throw Jenner out that very night, fearing something like this might happen, and I ignored her. I’m responsible for any harm that comes of all this.”

“You are not! You didn’t know it was him.”

“I should have … ”

“You gave the Stone to someone you thought was Nicodemus. That’s because you’re generous, considerate, and respectful toward your old leader. Those things are virtues, Justin, not weaknesses. Jenner simply exploited them for his own means.”

“I haven’t always been virtuous. The way I treated you, for example.”

Ian gave Justin a puzzled stare. “Me? What are you talking about?”

“The way I was so suspicious of you back at the colony. That can’t have been easy for you. I could tell it wasn’t. That wasn’t fair to you.”

Ian sat back up. “Listen, you had a human living in your home. A human, in a rat’s body. You could tell something wasn’t right about me, that my story wasn’t making sense, that something was - how did you put it? - ‘a bit off.’ Were you supposed to ignore that? As a responsible leader, you couldn’t, and you didn’t, and you called me on it. And yeah, it was uncomfortable as hell for me, considering the magnitude of the secret I was keeping, and yeah, I had very good reasons for keeping that secret, but it was still a secret, and from where you stood, I had no right to keep secrets from you, about anything. Do I think less of you because of that? To be honest, I would have thought less of you if you hadn’t held my feet to the fire and come down on me like you did. And when all’s said and done, you did still welcome me into your home, and give me a place there when I needed it most, and for that I shall be forever grateful. So tell me one thing you did wrong about the way you treated me.”

“It still wasn’t fair to you. And I’m sorry.”

“Huh. Well, in that case, apology accepted.” Ian lay down again and closed his eyes. “Now stop beating yourself up over this, and get some sleep.”

After a moment’s silence … “Ian?”

“Yeeees?”

“It didn’t escape my notice that you tried to come forward to help Isabella after Jenner …. after he … ”

“Justin.” Ian put as much sympathy and compassion into that one word that he could.

“Anyway, I just wanted you to know I was aware of what you tried to do, and it means a lot to me. I’ll always remember it.”

“I’m a doctor,” Ian said gently. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Even so, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

A short time after that, Ian lay snoring softly, having surrendered to the rigors of that day’s march, so Justin banked some dirt around the dying fire and settled down to go to sleep himself.

Justin awoke sometime during the night. The rains had, mercifully, never materialized, and a not-quite-full moon occasionally peeked through the clouds. Justin lay motionless, holding his breath and staring into the cold embers of the extinguished fire. During the course of this journey, his comfortable years of colony living had receded, replaced by the survival instincts honed by the wandering days before settling down in the rosebush. And those instincts now screamed at him that something was wrong, terribly wrong.

“Ian!” he whispered. “Ian, wake up!”

The other rat stirred, then sat up groggily. “You say something, Justin?”

“Shh! I think there’s a very large animal nearby. A cat, I think. Better arm yourself.”

“Okay.” Ian took up his crossbow. He was still loading it when a giant furry head parted the tall grasses at the edge of their tiny clearing. Both rats fixed their gazes on it. “You were right, Justin. It is a cat, isn’t it?”

Justin replied in the breath of a whisper. “Yes.”

“We could really use that flamethrower about now.”

The cat jumped for Ian even as he was cranking back the crossbow for firing. The next moment he found himself being smothered by paws, and felt sharp nails scraping none too gently at his flesh. He struggled to get free, without success.

Justin grabbed his sword and rushed at the cat. He had put three deep gashes in its side by the time it turned on him. He jumped back fast enough to avoid the first swipe of the paw, but the second one caught him broadside and knocked him several body lengths away. Justin landed on his stomach, his sword no longer in his forepaw.

The instant the cat turned its attention to Justin and released Ian, the old rat took up his crossbow and finished readying it for shooting. Sighting his target as best he could in the dark, he let the bolt fly.

The cat was poised to maul Justin when the bolt lodged in its cheek. This final attack was too much for it to bear. With a yelp of pain it spun round and disappeared into the night.

Ian flopped onto his back, laughing hysterically with released tension. “Oh, jeez! I thought I was a goner that time!”

Justin staggered over to him, ribcage aching from the battering he’d just endured and failing to see anything at all funny about the situation. “Ian! Stop that! Get a hold of yourself!”

“Not right now. I’m not in the mood.” Ian, still giggling, looked to the crossbow in his paw. “Guess I’d better start keeping this loaded at all times. Those few extra seconds nearly cost me my life.”

Justin retrieved his sword. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Ian replied. “A few scratches, nothing more. What about you?”

“Sore ribs. I’ll be fine. So, looks like it was my turn to save you this time … ”

“I beg your pardon? It was my superlative shot that finally sent that beast running.”

“A shot you never could have taken without my sword skills.” 

“Then let’s call that one a draw.”

“Let’s call it teamwork. Some damn fine teamwork.”

“I can live with that.” Ian reloaded the crossbow. “In case something else nasty pops up. We should try and sleep the rest of the night. We’ll be moving on first thing in the morning.”

Justin agreed, and they both settled down on the earth, but neither one slept another wink that night.


	20. Sweet Tooth

They traveled for several more days without incident. Ian always slept with a loaded crossbow, as Justin did with his sword. On one rainy night, they took refuge beneath an elevated section of roadway, and so were able to keep dry.

The next night they wandered into a wooded campsite. Ian decided to set their own camp only a few yards from a pair of sleeping humans. They wouldn’t be able to make a fire, Justin argued, but Ian had something else in mind. The campers had food, and Ian reckoned it was time to do some foraging to replenish their dwindling provisions.

The humans had their food in a large knapsack, tied closed with knots designed to confound any ordinary animal but presenting no problem to Ian and Justin. Once they had it open, they took a little bit of everything that wasn’t sealed in a can or jar and deposited it into a couple of bags made from rags Ian had picked up along the highway. When the bags were full, they each grabbed one and hurried quickly and quietly back toward their own little camp.

As Justin raced past the smaller of the two sleeping bags, he caught a whiff of an aroma that halted him dead in his tracks. Ian, running close behind, couldn’t stop in time and slammed into him. “What is it?” he whispered in alarm.

“Chocolate.” Justin gave a deep sniff. “I smell chocolate.”

“Well, good for you. We don’t need it, so get moving.”

Justin stood rooted to his spot as if smitten. “But I love chocolate.”

Ian ducked around his companion to take the lead. “Everyone loves chocolate, but unless you want to climb over a sleeping human to get it, you’re gonna have to forget it this time. Come on!”

Justin hesitated, then followed Ian through the dense undergrowth back to their camp. There he set down his load and announced, with an air of deep and solemn gravity, “Ian, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?”

“I have an absolute craving for chocolate.”

“Um, so?”

“So, I have to go back for it.”

“Uh, no. You’re not going back for it.”

“I have to. Look, I’m drooling!”

“Salivate to your heart’s content, but that sugary junk isn’t worth risking your life for, Justin.”

“I won’t be risking my life. It must be close to the opening of the sleeping bag - otherwise I wouldn’t have smelled it. I bet I can get it away from him without waking him up.”

“If the kid’s sleeping with it, it’s probably all melted. Not too smart on his part. And another reason this isn’t even worth discussing.”

“So let’s stop discussing it, and go get it.”

Ian put his forepaws on his hips. “Justin, I’ve never known you not to act sensibly, but that’s exactly what you’re doing now. It would be foolish to … Justin, come back here! Don’t be an idiot!”

Justin bounded back into the humans’ camp and up to the boy’s sleeping bag. The aroma of chocolate was deliriously strong. He lifted up one of the bag’s flaps and looked inside.

A whole unopened bar lay just beyond the boy’s fingers.

Ian came up beside Justin. “This is silly!” he hissed.

“No, look, I could slip it right out of the bag without touching him.” Justin ducked beneath the down-filled covers and started to very gently slide the flat candy bar away from the boy’s hand.

“Be careful! You’ll wake him up!” Ian ran over to the boy’s head to watch for a fluttering eyelid or any other sign of awakening. Justin emerged from beneath the flap, the unwieldy chocolate bar in his forepaws.

“Got it!”

“Good!” Ian gave the boy one last glance, and found himself staring into two huge dark eyes. He stumbled back a step in surprise, then turned and sprinted for the cover of the forest. “Justin! Get the hell out of here!”

The boy sat up. In the darkness, he could just barely make out a rat fleeing into the undergrowth with his candy bar slung over its back. “Dad! A rat just stole my Nestle Crunch! Dad, wake up!”

The man was up in a second. “Rats?” He groped around for his flashlight, then shone its beam on the knapsack and saw it had been opened, in spite of his precautions. “Damn vermin! That’s the last straw! Tomorrow morning we go home, Howie.”

“Dad, they were wearing clothes! And they were talking to each other!”

“Howie,” said the father, ignoring his son’s last remark, “you’d better sleep in the back seat of the car for the rest of the night. Rats can bite.”

“But, Dad! They were wearing clothes!”

“I’m sure they were.” The father opened the car door. “But even magical rats can bite. Now, in you go, Tiger!”

Ian was about to go back for Justin when, with the chocolate bar on his back, Justin broke through into their camp. “That was great, Justin, just great! I almost had a heart attack!”

“I didn’t ask you to come along.” Justin tore open one end of the waxy wrapper, exposing the bumpy brown candy, and breathed deeply of the intoxicating scent. “Oh, I think I’m in heaven! Smell that, Ian!”

“I’ve smelled chocolate before. So now that you’ve got it, what are you going to do with it?”

“Eat it. What else?”

Ian pointed at the bar. “You eat that whole thing, and you’ll end up with the worst stomach ache that any rat has ever had.”

“Of course you’re welcome to as much as you want.”

“That’s not the point, Justin! I don’t want any of it. We won’t be able to take any leftovers with us after you finish nibbling at it tonight. It’d be a mess, and we really can’t carry any more anyway.”

Justin looked despondently at the bar. “But we can’t just leave it here. That would be such a waste!”

“Not really. It would eventually be finished off by some animal or other.”

“Like I said - a waste!”

Ian settled down to get to sleep, to the melody of slamming car doors from the nearby human campsite. “Have yourself a happy little feast now, Justin, and enjoy it while it lasts.” Taking his companion’s advice, Justin tucked into the candy. Ian closed his eyes and tried to drift off, but the sound of Justin’s jowls working on the sweet chocolate began to take effect on him. Finally, he got up.

“On second thought, maybe I will have just a little of that.”


	21. Short Cut

Ian greeted the first light of day with a series of burps and moans. “Oh, I can’t believe we ate the whole thing!”

“I can.” Justin lay on his back, his head propped up on a pillow of moss. “I feel very bloated and very happy. Ah! - I can still taste it!”

Ian belched. “I’m afraid I can too.” He cautiously got to his feet. “Bloated or not, it’s time for us to get moving.”

Justin tried to sit up, then fell back on his moss bed. “Ian, if I stand up, I think I’ll rupture my stomach. Can’t we stay here a little longer? Just until the sun comes up.”

“I would have thought with all that sugar in your system you’d have lots of energy to burn. Oh, all right. Rest until sunrise if you feel you have to. I’m going to take a walk. I’m too uncomfortable to just lie around. I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Have a nice walk. And be careful.”

Ian hefted his loaded crossbow. “I’ve learned my lesson after our run-in with Mr. Kitty. I’ll stay low, and stay sharp.”

As the gray rat set off through the underbrush, Justin settled back for a few more minutes of blissful, inactive shuteye. He had begun to doze off when Ian ran back, shouting for him to get up. “What is it?” Justin rubbed at his eyes, reaching for his sword, still sluggish from the sugary feast of the night before.

“No time for questions.” Ian pulled Justin up off the ground. 

Justin groaned as his stomach reoriented itself to the vertical. “Oof. What’s going on, Ian? Are we in danger?”

“Nope. Time for flight, not fight.” Ian grabbed up their main supply sack. “A golden opportunity has just presented itself, and it’s too good to miss. Follow me. And hurry!” Ian vanished into the undergrowth. Justin hesitated a moment to let his stomach settle, then plunged after him.

They emerged only a couple of feet from the camping father and son’s car. The trunk was open, the man loading their belongings into it. Justin looked at Ian. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“There’s a parking permit sticker on the back window,” Ian said, “for a hospital in Washington, D.C. That man must work in that hospital, which means he must live in or near Washington.”

“And?”

“NIMH is located in Bethesda, Maryland - just north of Washington. I propose we hitch a ride.”

“You mean stow away in the trunk?” Justin stroked his whiskers. “That would be risky.”

“What isn’t these days? Look, Justin, if we keep walking, it’ll take at least another couple of weeks to reach NIMH, and I don’t know if I have that much time left. I haven’t said anything because I didn’t want to worry you, but I really am starting to feel my aging.”

Justin gave a solemn nod. “Yes, I noticed we’ve been slowing down a little more each day.”

“And I almost became cat food a few nights ago. That little incident doesn’t sit too well with me. If we catch this ride, we could be at NIMH by tomorrow night.”

The man walked away from the trunk to get something else from the camp. “I say we go for it. Come on!” Ian raced to the back of the car, hurling his crossbow and sack up into the trunk. Then he jumped onto the bumper and pulled himself in.

He landed on rust-flecked metal. His things were beside him. Ian grabbed them and hid behind the sleeping bag rolled up in the corner of the trunk.

Moments later he heard a soft thunk as Justin entered the trunk. His companion hastily joined him in the dark behind the sleeping bag. “Bad luck, Ian,” he said, breathing hard. “I think the boy may have seen me.”

“Nothing we can do about it now if he did.” Ian lay back against the grainy metal of the trunk wall. “If we’re discovered, then we’re discovered. And if we’re not, then we’ve got a long ride ahead of us. Get ready to bolt if he or his dad comes digging around for us, and let’s see what happens.”

The two rats heaved a sign of relief when, a minute later, the man stored away his last item and slammed the trunk closed. The engine started up, and the two stowaways were jerked about as the car abruptly pulled out of its parking slot, the grinding of the tires on the gravel reaching them clearly through the wheel well. They were on their way.

Justin made a bed out of a loose flap on the sleeping bag and took a nap to pass the time. Ian couldn’t get to sleep, but there wasn’t much else to do in the darkness of the trunk, so he spent the ride thinking about what they would have to do once the car reached its destination.

It seemed to Ian that days passed as he was jostled about by the auto’s movement. He wondered if his companion had ever traveled this way before, since Justin slept quite soundly, as if he were perfectly at home in the trunk of an automobile. He moaned a couple of times when the car hit especially nasty bumps in the road, but otherwise remained unconscious. No doubt dreaming about his chocolate feast, Ian mused to himself.

The car slowed to a stop and the engine shut off. Ian gave Justin a gentle kick to rouse him. “Justin! I think we’re here.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know.” The lock clicked, and the trunk was raised. Squinting at the sudden intrusion of daylight into the dark space, Ian peeked around the edge of the sleeping bag as unobtrusively as he could to view what was going on.

The man reached in and pulled out the bag that was in front of their own. When he had disappeared from view, Ian cautiously crept up to the edge of the open trunk to scan the surroundings. Justin joined him.

The car was parked in the driveway of a modern suburban home, backed in so that the trunk was only a yard or so from the open garage door. Ian craned his neck to get a better view of the street and the rest of the neighborhood.

“Do you have any idea where we are?” Justin asked.

“Hard to say. One suburban neighborhood looks much like any other. Let’s hop out and get away from here, before he gets back and takes away the rest of our cover in here.”

They vaulted over the rim of the trunk onto the bumper, and then down onto the concrete, Justin taking the sack so Ian had his paws free for his crossbow. Since the humans were behind them, busy with unloading the car, they hurried to get under the vehicle and make for the front of it.

This new view of their surroundings as they paused under the front bumper gave Ian little more to work with than before. “I dunno. Could be Virginia, could be Maryland, could even be part of D.C. itself. We’ll have to do some exploring to get our bearings.” They started out toward the driveway apron and a line of tall hedges along the curb where they could find cover … just as the boy came around the front of the car from somewhere behind them, catching them out in the open in the middle of the driveway.

Ian froze.

Justin froze.

The boy froze.

For a moment that stretched well past the breaking point, rats and human simply stood staring at each other. Then Justin shouted, “Run!” and did just that, sprinting toward the thicket with the sack bouncing at his back.

Ian found a smile creeping onto his face at the absurdity of the tableau in which he was a part, and the equal absurdity of getting caught by the same human child for the second time in as many days. Then he raised a paw to his lips in the universal gesture for silence, holding it just long enough for the meaning to sink in before turning and racing after Justin.

If the boy even thought of pursuing, he never did.

Justin stood waiting to berate Ian once the ex-human joined him under the shelter of the hedge. “What did you make that gesture for? Now there’s a human who knows there are intelligent rats in his front yard!”

Ian shot him a sarcastic look. “I think our clothes and weapons may have tipped him off to that already, dont’cha think?”

“Point. So, what do we do now?”

“Hope he got the message, and doesn’t go shouting about us to anyone else. Fortunately, I saw that this hedge line runs right into the one for the next property, and maybe even the one beyond that. Let’s follow it, and get as far from here as we can before we have to break cover again.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The curbside hedge ran the length of the entire block, and the two rodent travelers used it to full advantage to hide themselves until they reached the street corner several houses from where they’d started. Ian stuck his head out of the leafy cover just far enough to read the street sign atop a nearby pole, then grinned from ear to ear.

“You know where we are?” Justin inquired, seeing his companion’s expression.

“I sure do.”

“Well, how far are we from NIMH?”

Ian pointed down the street. “About two miles, that way.”


	22. An Old Friend

Shifting from the curbside hedge to more discreet cover, they moved from one backyard to the next, from shrub to shrub, never staying in the open for more than a few moments at a time. Justin walked with his sword drawn and Ian with his crossbow set and at the ready. Cats were likely to be plentiful in such a residential area, and the two rats didn’t want to be taken by surprise after their previous feline encounter.

As evening fell, the blocks of family houses gave way to a more developed expanse of commercial and government buildings. This change in the landscape provided less cover, and soon Ian and Justin decided to keep going without stopping occasionally to rest at all. They had a couple of close calls trying to get across busy roads, but none of the motorists even seemed to notice the rats in the gathering twilight.

Ian came to a halt at the base of a tree on a grassy patch by a curb. Before them stretched a parking lot, and beyond it a complex of very official-looking buildings. Full night nearly hid them by this time. “Where to now?” asked Justin.

Ian pointed to the building complex. “We’re here. That’s NIMH.”

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look the way I remember it.”

“Remember what Arthur said? About my account making it sound like I escaped from a different part of the building? In all truth, I suspect it may have been a different building altogether. But I should know - I worked here for about seven years. It’s NIMH all right.” Ian hopped into the paved lot and started toward the nearest structure, but Justin held back. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Justin set down his sack and gazed at the building. “I … I can’t do it, Ian. The memories of what we rats were put through in there are so horrendous … confined in metal cages … given agonizing injections … I can’t go back. I never should have come.”

Ian stood staring up at Justin. “Where is this coming from all of a sudden? You never gave any indication that this would be a problem. Why did you agree to come with me all this way if you thought you might not be able to go in?”

“Because I didn’t know. It never even occurred to me that this might happen. But coming to this place, and standing on this spot, and seeing those facilities with my own eyes … it’s triggering memories and feelings inside me that I fought for so long to suppress, I’d almost forgotten them. But they’re coming back now, and on top of everything else that’s happened to me …. I’m sorry, Ian, but I just can’t do it.”

“Well, isn’t that a fine thing.”

Justin scowled through his discomfiture. “A little sympathy for my position here, Ian, if you please.”

“Sorry. But I’ve still got my own mission here, regardless of what you’re going through.” Ian glanced around them. “You can’t just stay out here in the open. You’ll be seen sooner or later. Go sit beneath that blue car and wait for me there. And watch out that its owners don’t start it up and run over you.” Ian took the supply sack from Justin. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Where are you going?”

“To try and find Harry, if I can. He often kept late hours at the lab, so he might still be here … assuming he still works here at all.”

“Why didn’t you go try to find him at his home instead? Maybe we should go there … ”

“That will be our next step, if this doesn’t pan out - either him or Lucy. But the resources I’ll need to try to halt my accelerated aging are here at NIMH, not at either of their homes, so we’d end up back here in any case. Figured I’d start right at the source, so to speak. You just sit tight, and I’ll see what I can find. Be back in a bit.”

Ian set out across the parking lot with the sack slung over his shoulder, working his way from car to car and hunkering down out of sight whenever any humans ventured too near. Justin went to a spot in the shadows of the blue car that Ian had indicated. This proximity to the place where he and his race had been created exerted a disquieting hold on him, and before long Justin found himself trembling with nervousness. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm himself, for Ian’s sake if not his own.

It didn’t work. Where was Ian? What was taking him so long? Had he been caught, captured, taken into the labs? Anxiously, Justin scanned the lot for any sign of an approaching tiny figure. Seeing none, he lay down along the inner side of one tire and huddled against it, trembling, trying to drive from his mind the horrible memories of the things that had been done to him within the sterile laboratories of NIMH.

He must have lost track of the time, for suddenly Ian’s voice was sounding in his ear. “Justin? Are you all right?”

Justin turned sick eyes up to Ian. “No, I’m not. Where have you been?”

Ian bristled at this unreasonable interrogation. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t gone long.” Ian put down his sack. “I was able to find Harry’s car. I left a note for him under his windshield wiper, telling him to meet us tomorrow morning at the east service entrance. It’s a good thing I brought that paper and ink from the colony.”

“Ah. Good thing.”

“Justin, are you okay? You look and sound physically ill.”

“No, I’m not okay!” Justin snapped, struggling to sit up. “I told you, it’s this place. NIMH. Just being around it is making me a nervous wreck.”

Ian tried a new tack. “There’s nothing to worry about. Harry’s a friend. He’s going to help us. Once we make contact with him, everything will be all right.”

“How do you know that?” Justin demanded. “How do you know he won’t put us in cages and cut us open and perform all kinds of experiments on us?”

“Now you’re just being irrational. Harry wouldn’t do that. He’s an animal lover. We’ve just made a very long and very dangerous journey to get here, and I never would have attempted it if I thought for one moment that it would end with either of us under a dissecting scope. Now let’s get to the east entrance. There are some shrubs near there where we can spend the night.”

Justin shook his head. “I think I should leave. I think I should head back to the colony.”

“Head back to the colony? By yourself? Would you even be able to find the way?”

“I’m a rat of NIMH, Ian. I’m pretty sure I’d be able to figure it out.”

“Maybe so, but how long would that take you? And what would you do once you got there? Jenner needs to be stopped sooner rather than later, and that’s one of the things we came here for.”

Justin stared forlornly at the NIMH buildings. “I … I just can’t go in there.”

“I think you can.” Ian hauled Justin to his feet, then picked up the sack again. “There’s always a chance Harry might show up at the east entrance tonight, and if he does, I want to be there.”

“You go, then. I’ll stay here.”

“Stay here? In the middle of a parking lot, all by yourself? What kind of sense does that make?”

Justin continued to gaze fearfully toward the government facility. “There’s no way you can possibly understand what I’m feeling now. You can’t know what this place means to me.”

“I’m getting a pretty good idea. And I’m not totally unsympathetic to your plight. But we’re facing an emergency, on multiple fronts. My aging, the colony, Jenner … ” Ian placed his forepaws on Justin’s shoulders. “Listen, we’ve come this far together,” he said with soft encouragement, “and we can’t split up now. I know that terrible things were done to you here, but for my sake and for the sake of the entire colony, you must put aside your fears and do what you know has to be done. You have my word of honor that nothing will happen to you if you go inside that building. I swear it.”

Justin swallowed the lump in his throat, then closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay, I’ll come. But this won’t be easy for me.”

“Will it be easier if you keep your eyes closed? I can guide you, and let you know if we have to run or hide.”

“That … might be a good idea. Thanks.”

“Here, hold on to my tail, and I’ll play guide dog. We’ll take it nice and slow, just to be safe. Picture yourself in a sunny meadow somewhere, picking daisies and listening to the buzzing bees, or something … ”

At their measured pace, it took them some time to reach the east entrance. Once there, Justin put down his load and settled back on his haunches beneath a protective clump of bushes near the door. The building’s concrete wall was so close he could have reached out and touched it. “Ian, I don’t feel very well.”

“Just hold it together the best you can. We’ll be safe here, until we can get inside.”

These words did little to comfort his companion, who put his forepaws on his stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Rats can’t throw up.”

“NIMH rats can. Didn’t you help Barnes treat any upset stomachs at the colony?”

“No, I didn’t. I guess I lucked out in that regard.” Ian lifted a branch and peered out of their green fortress. “Well, I’ll be … Here comes Harry! I told you he might stop by tonight. Like I said, he works late sometimes.”

Justin wordlessly stumbled deeper into the bush, holding a forepaw over his mouth. Ian looked after his rodent friend with a worried glance, then stepped out to greet his human friend.

Harry was struck speechless by the sight of a rat wearing clothes and armed with a crossbow standing out on the sidewalk waiting for him. The portly scientist took off his glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, and put them back on. When this failed to alter what he saw, he leaned down closer to the rodent and whispered, “Dr. Hargraves, is that … is it you?”

Ian nodded. “Hi, Harry. Long time no see. Can you understand what I’m saying?”

“I don’t believe it,” Harry murmured, and reached out to pick Ian up. “I’ll take you to my house. You’ll be comfortable there.”

Ian dodged the giant hands. “I don’t want to go to your house, Harry. I want inside the research wing.”

The scientist scratched his head. “I don’t understand. What are you trying to tell me?” Ian pointed emphatically at the building. “You want me to take you in there?” Harry asked. Ian nodded, then held up a forepaw for Harry to wait a moment and rushed back into the bush.

“Justin! Where are you?”

“Right here.” Justin meekly emerged from the shadows. “I feel miserable. What’s going on?”

“I made Harry understand that I want to go inside. He’ll take me in. And you’re coming with me.”

“Inside?” Justin clutched at his stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick again.”

“It’s going to be okay. I promised, remember? Close your eyes again, if that helps.” Ian took Justin by the shoulders and marched him out into view of Harry. Far from keeping his eyes shut, Justin looked up at the human towering over him and turned white underneath his fur.

“Who is this?” Harry indicated Justin.

“It’s a long story that I could never tell you in sign language,” Ian said, and again pointed at the NIMH building.

“You both want to go in there?”

“You got it,” Ian nodded.

The next thing Justin knew, he and Ian were crammed together in Harry’s coat pocket. He squirmed to put himself more at ease, much to Ian’s discomfort, and finally settled for closing his eyes and holding on tight.

Harry headed straight for the laboratory where, mere months earlier, Dr. Hargraves had transferred his mind into his current rodent body. He withdrew Ian from his pocket first, studying the graying rat up close. “You look like you’ve seen some wear and tear since Cage 18, my friend. Let’s see what we can do about that, shall we?” Setting Ian down on the counter, he then took Justin out of his pocket and held the brown rat in the guard uniform up to his face. “And I’m very curious to hear about you.”

Justin was not at all happy about being held by a human. “Please, just put me down … ”

Harry let go of him without warning, and Justin fell onto the countertop below. “My god,” Harry muttered.

The two-foot fall onto the hard surface was about the last thing Justin, in his nervous condition, needed. Fearing that the human might mean him harm, he slunk away toward Ian. “Why did he just do that?”

Ian could see that Harry looked shocked, his staring eyes fixed on Justin. “Good lord, Justin, I think Harry understood you. Say something else.”

“You just spoke,” said Harry, gazing at Justin as if in a trance. “You just spoke in English!”

“You … you understand me?” Justin asked the scientist.

“Yes, perfectly,” Harry stammered. “It’s very high-pitched and … squeaky, if you don’t mind me saying, but I can make out the words quite clearly.”

Ian walked over to Justin and put an arm around his shoulder. “Well, Justin, it was very lucky for me that you came along after all. It looks like you’ll be doing a lot of translating for me!”

“Oh.” Justin looked up at Harry. “Pardon me, sir, but do you have anything for an upset stomach?”


	23. NIMH

Ian closed the heavy manilla folder on Harry’s desktop and sighed. “I give up. Two days of poring over Dr. Schultz’s records, and I still can’t make heads or tails of them.” He paused reflectively. “Funny, I’ve used that phrase all my life, and now that I actually have a tail … But anyway. Four different series of injections were given during the course of your treatments, and any one of them - or any two or more, in combination - could have been responsible for slowing the aging process.”

Justin stuck his head up over the side of his cushioned steel box across the desk and looked at Ian. “So what do you do now?”

Ian scratched the back of his neck and said slowly, “Simple: tell Harry as soon as he comes back to give me every injection that you were given eleven years ago.”

“Now, wait a minute.” Justin climbed out of his box and walked over to Ian. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. I’ve told you, those shots are agonizing. You would be put through tortures that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. In your condition, I don’t even think you’d survive the treatment.”

“Then I’m dead either way.” Ian tapped his foot against the folder. “These records meticulously detail the experiments that were performed on you, and some part of that treatment prolonged your life. Either I sit back and die of old age in a few more weeks, or I take a chance and have the shots.”

Justin heaved his shoulders. “Okay … but I’m worried for you. There’s no way I can describe how painful it will be.”

“I’ve felt pain before.” The door to the office opened and Harry stepped inside, locking the door behind him. He had moved the rats into his private office so that they wouldn’t be discovered by anybody else.

Justin told the scientist what Ian wanted. Harry picked up the file and flipped through it. “It’ll take me a while to get some of these drugs and compounds. We probably won’t be able to start until tomorrow.”

“That’s fine,” Ian said, and Justin translated.

“Good.” Harry tucked the folder under his arm. “I’ll start right on it. Is there anything else I can get either of you?”

Ian shook his head. “I don’t suppose you could bring me some more chocolate?” Justin asked.

“No, I don’t think so. You’ve eaten practically nothing else since you got here three days ago. Have you been using that toothpaste I gave you yesterday?”

“Of course.” Justin displayed a mouthful of gleaming white fangs.

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to lose all your teeth.”

“Although where you got a toothbrush that small I’ll never know,” Ian quipped, knowing Harry wouldn’t be able to understand him.

“It was a miniature electronics cleaning brush,” Justin reminded Ian.

“I know. I was just being spectacularly unfunny, it appears.”

Harry glanced from one rat to the other, only able to follow, if just barely, Justin’s side of the conversation. He’d come to notice that the two of them would often squeak at each other, sometimes in deep conversation he could only discern half of, but other times in what seemed casual banter. Any number of times, when he’d asked Justin to translate what Ian had said, Justin had told him to never mind because it wasn’t important. And this appeared to be one of those times.

“Uh, I’ll be back in a few hours with something for dinner. Any special requests?”

“I feel like having pizza,” Ian said.

“Pizza,” Justin told Harry.

“Right. See you later.” Harry left the room and locked the door.

Ian went to his own box and crawled into it. Harry had given each rat one to sleep and relax in. Justin refused to stay in a cage, so the scientist came up with a pair of stainless steel trays with very high sides. Lined with handkerchiefs, they made comfy little niches where Ian and Justin could spend the nights, or just relax in general.

Justin became a good deal less nervous upon learning he wasn’t going to be kept in a cage, but what had really won his confidence was Harry’s offering of chocolate. After three days of royal treatment by the human scientist, Justin was finally at ease.

Using Justin as an interpreter, Ian had told Harry all about how he escaped from NIMH after the mind-switching experiment and found his way to the colony, and how his mysteriously-accelerated aging had forced him to return. Then, while he read through the records of the experiments Schultz had performed on Justin and the others of the Original Twenty, Justin related to Harry how he had been deposed and exiled by Jenner, who was planning to wage a war against the entire human race. This last revelation had provoked an incredulous reaction from the human scientist, but Ian had added written support to Justin’s account to let Harry know the situation was deadly serious.

Harry was especially interested in the Stone, and all that Jenner had managed to do with it. Ian assured Harry it was not of human manufacture, while Justin could only say he wasn’t certain how the Stone had been made, or by whom. The exiled leader of the rats was concerned mainly with the safety of the colony, and pleaded with Harry to convince other humans that Jenner was the only one responsible for the killing and should be the only rat punished.

Harry had asked Justin several times where the colony was located, but Justin steadfastly refused to tell him. He was not yet ready to place so much trust in his human host - not for all the chocolate in the world.

Ian lay down in his box, resting his head on a folded-up handkerchief he used as a pillow. Justin climbed in after him and sat balanced on the tray’s raised edge, legs and tail dangling. “If you insist on going through with this, Ian, I’d like to wish you luck, and say that I’ll stick with you to help if I can.”

“Don’t worry about me, Justin. I’ll be fine - unless I’m not. It’s all up to the treatments, and whether they’re going to work on me at all, and whether or not I waited too late to start them. Right now you should be thinking about how you’re going to stop Jenner. I really think you should tell Harry where the colony is. I mean, he is trying to help us, and you’re not giving him much to go on.”

“How can my revealing the location of the colony help stop Jenner?”

“Harry could get to Thorn Valley before the government or military find out about it, maybe even take you there with him, and evacuate the colony. Then, if things really got out of hand and the colony’s destroyed - as I’m sure it would be if other humans discover its location in the wake of Jenner’s hostilities - no lives would be lost.”

“Evacuate? Evacuate to where?”

“Maybe here. Maybe to a state park in some other region where the government would never think to look for you. We’ve got options - which we won’t have if everyone’s still hunkered down in Thorn Valley when the helicopters and bombers come.”

“I call that no option at all, Ian. You’ve lived at the colony, among us. You’ve seen all the work we’ve put into it, and all we’ve accomplished there. We poured everything we had into making that our home, and there is no fallback position. We couldn’t start all over again somewhere else, not without years of preparation, and we can’t go back to wandering with all the families we’ve got. And because of that, the location of the colony is a secret that no human can be trusted with … not even Harry.”

“You should at least tell him the name of the town where the Fitzgibbon’s farm is. If Harry could alert the local authorities and warn them about Jenner, maybe we can stop this whole thing before it gets too big.”

“Even that, I fear, would be giving away too much.” Justin went to his own box and stretched out on the white cotton bedding. “I’ll have to think on it a while.”

“Don’t think too long. If the authorities find about the rats of NIMH from Jenner instead of us, they’ll figure it all out for themselves, and maybe even where the colony is. And then where would we be?”

Justin fell into a long silence, and when he spoke again, it was on an entirely different subject. “So, why do you think Harry can understand me, and not you?”

“I really can’t add anything to our previous speculations on the matter. It could be as simple as the fact that you’ve been a rat all your life, speaking English with your vocal chords for over a decade now, and you’ve simply become adept at it in a way I haven’t, new to this body as I am. But I more suspect it’s another byproduct of Schultz’s treatments. We know they affected you long term in any number of physiological ways - extended lifespans, bigger stature, increased strength and vigor, heightened ability to recover from illness and injury .. so why not more developed vocal abilities as well? It’s not as farfetched as it seems.”

“So, you think he’ll be able to understand you as well, once you’ve had the treatments?”

“Maybe not right away, but perhaps eventually. Why? Getting tired of translating for me?”

Later that afternoon, the first rains started. Inside the modern office building, with its perpetual climate control and windows that never opened, it took a hard rain to make itself noticed, so when Ian heard the heavy drops spattering against the glass even over the hum of the air conditioning, he made the journey from Harry’s desktop to the windowsill. Peering outside, he saw torrential sheets rippling across the parking lot.

“I don’t envy anyone who was caught out in that,” Ian observed.

Harry turned out to be one of those very unfortunate souls, appearing in the office early that evening with a drenched raincoat to go along with the large slice of pizza he brought for Ian and Justin to share, along with a tray of tiny clinking bottles. The pizza wasn’t hot, but at least he’d managed to keep it from getting waterlogged by the deluge.

“Really coming down out there, huh?” Ian asked, while Justin dutifully translated between mouthfuls of pizza.

“Yes, Giselle’s finally hit us, right on schedule.”

“Giselle?” both rats asked at once, not caring for the implications of the female name.

“Yes, Hurricane Giselle,” Harry supplied. “Came ashore as a Cat Three, hit Mississippi and Alabama really hard, then moved up along the Appalachians. She’s down to a tropical depression now, but still packing some pretty fierce winds and dropping more rain than most places along her path have seen in years.”

Justin looked to Ian with wide eyes. “The colony … ”

“What about it? You told me it’s built to withstand floods.”

“It’s built to withstand flooding. But Thorn Valley’s never been hit by a tropical system since we’ve been there. More to the point, our flooding protocols always assumed a fully staffed colony to coordinate necessary safety and infrastructure measures. If Jenner’s still got over half the rats at the farm, leaving behind all the children and mothers … ”

“Then those who are left might not know how to manage it on their own. Great. Jenner’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

“I take it this Thorn Valley’s somewhere in the Appalachians?” Harry surmised from what he’d been able to understand of the conversation.

Justin looked to the human, realizing he’d been speaking openly to Ian without stopping to think that Harry might be listening in. He pointed up at the scientist with a stern look. “That name doesn’t leave this office! You hear me? It doesn’t leave this room!”

Harry screwed up his face in concentration. “I know you must be pretty agitated about something, because I couldn’t understand a word you just said through all those squeaks.”

Justin took a deep breath to calm himself, then started over. “Forget. You. Ever. Heard. The. Words. ‘Thorn. Valley.’ Clear?”

“Well, uh, yeah, sure.”

“Can you get us a radio?” Justin went on. “One we can use to get a news station?”

“Aren’t the news magazines I’ve been bringing you good enough for current events?” asked the scientist, totally missing the point of Justin’s request.

“To follow the storm,” Justin elucidated.

“Oh. Oh, yes! Yes, I can get you a radio. In fact, I can get you something even better. Although I’m not sure how well it will work in here, under these fluorescent lights and inside this sealed architecture. But we can give it a try.”

“Good. I’d appreciate it.”

Harry looked from Justin to Ian. “Uh, change of subject, here. You might not want to eat too much, Dr. Hargraves,” he said, indicating the tray of bottles he’d set down on the desktop along with the pizza. “I was able to get all the drugs we need. I can start the treatment tonight if you wish.”

“Yes,” Ian nodded, “that would be good.” He helped himself to one more bite of the pizza. “Justin, tell Harry to begin right away.”

Harry took a hypodermic syringe from a cabinet and filled it with some fluid from one of the bottles. Ian nearly gagged when he saw the size of the needle, but quickly composed himself. He had forgotten how different the world looked from a rat’s point of view.

“Remember, there are four separate drugs in the treatment,” Harry said to Ian, “so I’ll be giving you four injections at a time.”

“Ouch. My poor arm.”

“Arm?” Justin muttered to himself, not sure what Ian was talking about.

Ian rolled up a shirtsleeve and stood in his box, leaning against its side on both forepaws. “I think I’ll close my eyes for this. Okay, let’s get this over with, Harry. Shoot.”

With his eyes shut, Ian couldn’t see what was going on. Expecting a moment of excruciating pain in his exposed arm to come any second, he was surprised to feel a pair of human fingers lifting up the front of his shirt. Then, as a hand came against his back, he felt something sharp at his stomach. Ian’s first reaction was to back away, but the hand behind him kept him where he was.

Ian looked down to see the steel needle plunging into his abdomen. He clamped his jaws together as a wave of unbelievable pain swept through him. Harry pushed down the plunger slowly, forcing the drug into Ian’s body.

After the needle was pulled out, Ian swayed on his legs, which were suddenly quite unsteady, then fell onto his back, his forepaws gripping at his stomach. Justin peered over the edge of the box. “Are you all right, Ian?”

“Of course I’m not all right!” Ian screamed. “I’ve just been harpooned!”

Justin turned to Harry. “I think he’s okay. It’s just that he was expecting the shot in his arm. Don’t ask me why.”

Ian glanced up and saw Harry coming at him with another needle. “Oh, no,” he moaned, “not again!”

After the second shot had been administered, Justin climbed into the box and knelt beside his companion, who was plainly in great agony. “Justin,” Ian moaned, “why didn’t you tell me it would hurt like this?”

“As I recall, I did.”

“Oh.” Ian rolled onto his stomach. “In that case, I’m glad I didn’t listen to you. You probably would have talked me out of this.”

“I can tell Harry to hold off on the other two shots if you want.”

“Two?” Ian winced at the thought of two more injections. “No … no, I need them, and if I don’t get them now, I’ll just have to have them later. Tell Harry to go ahead.”

“Okay.” Justin gave Harry the message, so the scientist continued with the treatment.

By the time the fourth shot was finished with, the pain was too much for Ian to bear, and he retreated into unconsciousness as the rain continued to beat against the windows outside.


	24. The Treatment

Ian awoke in a great deal of pain. He struggled to sit up, realized this was a mistake, and lay down again.

The gusty rains still pounded against the sides of the NIMH building. But now a new sound lay over the inclement weather: the staticky, wavering voice of a newscaster.

Ian rolled over onto his stomach and crawled to the edge of his bed-tray, pulling himself up so he could get a better look around.

Justin sat on the desktop a foot or so away, paying rapt attention to a tiny black-and-white TV that had been set up there. Noticing Ian, he stood and walked over to the reawakened rat. “Ah, Ian. How are you feeling?”

“Lousy.” Ian saw through the office window that it was light outside, if gloomy due to the storm. “What time is it?”

“A little after five o’clock. You slept for nearly twenty-four hours.”

“Then why don’t I feel well-rested?”

“That’s one of the effects of the drugs.” Justin lay a forepaw on Ian’s arm. “You’re in for some rough times ahead. I know; I’ve been through this myself. Do you feel like eating anything? Harry left some food in case you were hungry.”

“Food? I don’t think I could even look at the stuff right now.” Ian noticed that he and Justin were alone in the office. “Just where is Harry anyway?”

“He’s out doing something or other. Maybe working in one of the labs. He still has his regular NIMH duties, you know, and he has to cover them, or else his colleagues might start to wonder why he’s spending all his time here in his office.”

“True. So, what’s that new toy of yours?”

Justin returned to the tiny TV, patting it like a proud father. “Harry got it for us. From Radio Shack, he said. Five-inch screen, and controls small enough for a rat to easily manage. Wish we could have had one of these back in the rosebush, or even out in Thorn Valley, but apparently they weren’t available until recently. State of the art.”

“What art?” Ian critiqued as he regarded the grainy, wavering picture on the diminutive screen. “Looks barely watchable.”

“As Harry feared, the building’s structure does play havoc with the reception, but it’s coming through clearly enough for our purposes.” Justin sobered. “Giselle has moved out of the Appalachians toward the coast, so that’s the back end of her we’re still getting out there. Thorn Valley should be in the clear now, but I worry what damage the storm may have caused in its wake.”

“Any way to find out?”

“What’s happening in a remote valley two states away?” Justin shook his head. “I can mostly only get local news and weather, for the Washington, D.C. area, or some national broadcasts - and neither one is going to mention Thorn Valley.”

“No, I suppose not. Listen, Justin, I’m sure it’s going to be all right. Arthur would have designed the colony to withstand something like this.”

“Would he? I’m not so sure. The newscasters are saying some places along the storm’s path have gotten more rain than they’ve had in ten years, or even twenty. That’s before we escaped from NIMH ourselves. We wouldn’t have directly experienced anything like this during our wanderings, or at the rosebush, or during our time in Thorn Valley either. And with just the females and children left on site to deal with it, this could be a disaster for us.”

“All the more reason for me to get through these treatments as quickly as I can, so we can get back there to see what’s going on for ourselves.” Ian looked to Justin. “Unless you want to leave now, and head back to Thorn Valley without me?”

“But, then how would you communicate with Harry? By written notes? That wouldn’t work, especially if you grow too weak to write.”

“We’d figure out a way. If you feel you have to be with your fellow rats, then go. Don’t let me keep you here.”

Justin shook his head. “I wasn’t there when the worst hit, so going there now probably wouldn’t accomplish anything. Besides, we still haven’t figured out what to do about Jenner. No, I’ll stay here with you and Harry, at least for now.”

The scientist returned to his office about an hour after that, bearing with him a carton of hot Chinese food. Justin turned down the TV as Harry asked how Ian was doing.

“Not too good,” Justin translated as Ian replied from where he lay in his tray. “He says he never knew anything could hurt so much.”

“Nothing I can do about that, I’m afraid. Does he seem to be in any danger?”

“It’s hard for us to tell. We knew the process would be excruciating, from my own experience of going through it, and Ian’s state of health was more fragile to begin with. He’s very weak, but that’s to be expected. I really don’t know how to answer that.”

Harry offered Ian some of the food. “Here, Doctor Hargraves, have some of this. You’ve got to build up strength for the next series of injections.”

Ian pushed away the plastic spoon of noodles. “I don’t want this, Harry. I want the second series of shots right now.”

Justin regarded the other rat skeptically. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What’s not a good idea?” Harry cut in.

“He wants more shots now,” Justin told the human.

“I don’t know … ” Harry pondered Ian’s request. “Dr. Hargraves, it might be risky giving you the injections two days in a row. Are you sure it’s what you want?”

Ian nodded firmly.

“All right. You’re the boss.”

Justin bounded into Ian’s box as Harry prepared the four syringes. “Ian, what are you thinking?! When I went through this treatment, I was given the shots over a period of many weeks, not in a few days.”

“We haven’t got weeks. Jenner has to be stopped as soon as possible, and you need to see how the colony weathered the storm, so I don’t want to spend any more time here than I have to.”

“But you could die! You’re still so weak from yesterday’s injections that you can barely stand up on your own.”

“I appreciate your concern, Justin, but it’s what I have to do.” Harry came forward with the first needle at the ready. “Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to be tortured some more.”

After Harry was done with the fourth shot, Justin sat beside Ian, and found that his companion was still awake. “Justin?” the stricken rat gasped.

“Yes, Ian?”

“I understand now why you were afraid of this place. I’m sorry you and your people were put through this.”

“I’ll tell Harry to give you a pain killer.”

“No … no, that might interfere with the treatment. I’ll do without it.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

Harry slept on his office couch that night, wanting to be on hand in case Ian experienced any severe reactions to the second series of shots. Justin sat up with Ian well into the night, as the rains outside tapered off and then ceased altogether, but eventually he returned to his own tray and nodded off himself. Ian could not get to sleep, and tossed and turned until morning, never able to find a position which would ease the pain he felt in every fiber of his being.

Come morning, Harry and Justin found Ian awake, weak and miserable. Harry left to get breakfast, returning a short while later with a couple of donuts and some orange juice. Ian nibbled at a piece of one donut and had a few sips of the juice. “Come, now,” Harry said to him, “you’ve got to have more than that. You haven’t eaten in nearly two days. You have to regain your strength.”

Ian shook his head. “That’s all I can stomach at the moment. Justin, tell Harry that I want the third round of injections this afternoon.”

Justin felt Ian’s wrist for several seconds. “Your pulse is very fast and faint.” Then he turned to Harry. “Dr. Hargraves says he wants to wait at least until tomorrow to have any more shots.”

“Justin! That’s not what I said!”

Harry nodded. “Yes, I think that’s probably wise.”

Ian grabbed Justin’s shirt. “Tell him I want the third series today! If you don’t, I’ll write him a note myself.”

“Yes, you’re right, it’s best you wait,” Justin went on as if nothing were the matter. “If you took more shots today, it would probably be too much of a strain on you.”

“Is everything all right?” Harry asked, peering into the box. “Dr. Hargraves seems excited about something.”

“Oh, he’s just saying how much the injections hurt. He’s very weak, you know.”

“I can imagine.” Harry finished his breakfast and went to the door. “Well, since the doctor doesn’t seem to be in any danger, I may as well get an early start on my work. I’ll be back later with something for lunch.”

When Harry was gone, Ian looked sternly at Justin. “Why didn’t you tell him what I wanted?”

“You wouldn’t survive another set of shots so soon. You heard Harry; he agrees with me.”

“You had no right to speak for me like that!”

“If you were expecting me to stand by while you committed suicide, you picked the wrong rat to be your friend.”

Ian threw himself down on his handkerchief mattress. “I’m not going to forget this, Justin.”

“Forget that I saved your life? I should hope not. Harry’s going to bring us lunch, and after that some dinner, and I want you to eat a little of each. You can be as angry at me as you want, but I have a feeling you’ll be thanking me for this someday.”

Ian simply lay there glowering, so Justin hopped out of the box and continued perusing one of the news magazines Harry had brought him, favoring some quiet reading over the grating audio of the TV’s tinny speakers. He wanted to learn as much as he could about the world of humans, since it was beginning to look as if Jenner had placed the destiny of the rats of NIMH on a collision course with that world.

Harry stopped by his office two more times that day with meals for Ian and Justin. He noticed Ian seemed strangely silent, but accepted food readily. Bidding them goodnight after his second visit, he left the two rodents alone, wanting to spend the night in his own bed at home.

Justin crawled into his box and called out, “Good night, Ian.” The other rat didn’t answer. “Don’t mope. It’s bad for the spirit.” Justin buried himself under a handkerchief and drifted off to sleep.

Harry arrived early the next morning and found Ian out of his box, standing on top of the desk. The rat thrust a note at him, scribbled on a piece of tablet paper from the top desk drawer. Harry set down the breakfast he’d brought for the two rats and skimmed the note.

Harry,  
I want you to give me the third series of shots today, no matter what Justin says.

Ian went over to the tray of bottles and syringes on the end of the desk and patted it with his forepaw.

Harry looked to Justin, who stood leaning against his own tray with arms crossed. “Why would you tell me anything different?”

“Ian and I don’t exactly see eye-to-eye on the best course for his treatments. But this is what he wants, so who am I to stand in his way?”

“Oh.” Harry looked back to Ian. “Do you want them now, Dr. Hargraves?”

Ian nodded.

“Well, you seem chipper enough, especially if you got into my desk and wrote this yourself. I guess a good night’s sleep did the trick, especially after skipping the shots yesterday.” Harry put the note aside and readied the syringes. “I suppose you’re strong enough for more of the treatment, although I think this should be the last for a couple of days.”

When all the shots had been given, Ian staggered back to his box. Justin stood by, arms still folded and a scornful expression on his face. “What are you looking at?” Ian snapped.

“I simply can’t understand why you’re putting yourself through this. It wouldn’t do any harm if you waited several days between shots. Uh, need some help?”

Ian was trying without success to climb into his box. “No, I don’t!”

Justin stepped forward to give Ian a hand anyway. “You shouldn’t be straining yourself in your condition.”

“I’ll do just fine,” Ian wheezed, then his eyes rolled and he collapsed into Justin’s arms.

Justin tried for a moment to revive Ian, but couldn’t. The gray rat lay shivering and shuddering, utterly unresponsive, and Justin could feel a burning heat radiating through Ian’s pelt.

“Harry, come quick! I think something’s gone very wrong with Ian! I think he may be dying!”


	25. "No More Shots!"

Ian returned to awareness cradled in a warm human hand that smelled faintly of lilac. He looked up through half-lidded eyes and saw a familiar face. “Lucy!”

The female scientist said over her shoulder, “Hey, he’s coming around!”

From somewhere beyond Ian’s limited, blurry field of vision Harry replied, “You’ve been saying that for the past half hour.”

“But this time he squeaked at me!” Lucy returned her attention to Ian. The rodent squirmed drunkenly in her hand, pressing himself against the soft flesh of the palm. “Yes, he’s definitely awake now.”

Ian used his forepaws to walk himself up Lucy’s hand into a standing position. “Where’s Justin?” he asked of no one in particular.

“Right here, Ian.” Justin appeared over the side of Ian’s resting box, climbing in to join him. “You gave us quite a scare. You’d better sit down. Don’t want to exert yourself.”

Ian sat back against Lucy’s palm. Harry had come forward and now stood beside Lucy, staring down at Ian under the sterile fluorescent ambience of the office. The newly-awakened rat wasn’t made any more comfortable by having all eyes in the office on him. “What happened?”

“You nearly died,” Justin said. “You’ve been in a coma for the past three days.”

“Three days?!”

“Yup. You weren’t breathing right, and you went through a fit of convulsions the first day. You really had us worried for a while. How are you feeling now?”

Ian took a deep breath. “I feel very strange. I’ve still got dull pains all over, but I’m also very lightheaded. Maybe I’m just not fully awake yet.” He looked back up at Lucy. “Who let her in on this?”

“Harry thought she ought to know,” Justin answered. “I’ve been telling her everything that’s going on. She’s going to help us.”

“How?”

Justin let Lucy take over. “I’ve talked to a lawyer friend of mine. He’s going to see if there’s any way Justin and his people can be protected under the law.”

“Well, that’s … something, right there.” Ian turned to his fellow rat. “Do you think it’s wise to have so many humans learn of you? I thought that was the exact opposite of what you wanted?”

“I really didn’t have a choice. You see, I thought a lot about what you said to me, and I decided you were right. I told Harry where the Fitzgibbon’s farm is. While you were unconscious, he tried to call the town, but he couldn’t raise anybody.”

Ian straightened. “What do you mean?”

“I looked up the number of the town police station,” said Harry, “and phoned several times, but I couldn’t get an answer, no matter how long I let it ring. So I tried the fire station, and then stores and the library, and then I just tried home numbers at random, but I couldn’t get an answer anywhere. And I must have made dozens of calls. It’s as if the entire town’s dead.”

“If Jenner had tried anything that big, you surely would have heard about it on the news,” Ian said, with Justin translating.

“That’s what Lucy and I thought, but we haven’t heard a thing. Anyway, I called their county sheriff earlier today and asked him to send someone into town to have a look around. He’s supposed to get back to me this afternoon.”

“If Jenner’s killed an entire town,” Justin picked up for Harry, “the human authorities will try to destroy us when they find out, and not leave a single rat of us alive. That’s why Lucy’s looking into the legal aspects of the situation.”

“If Jenner’s gown powerful enough to kill an entire town and keep it a secret,” Ian countered, “then we may not be able to stop him at all. Justin, you’d better tell Harry there’s a good chance that sheriff won’t be calling him back today.”

“He knows that,” Justin told Ian. “If he hasn’t heard anything by tomorrow morning, Harry’s going to drive out there himself to investigate the situation. I’ll be going with him, and I think you should come with us too, if you’re up to it.”

“But … what about my treatment? I can’t just stop the shots.”

“There won’t be any more shots,” Justin said solemnly. “Tell him, Harry.”

“After the last set of shots, you went into a coma,” Harry explained, “and you were very lucky to have come out of it as well as you apparently have. The next time you might not come out of it at all, Dr. Hargraves, and I won’t be responsible for your death. I will not administer any more injections to you.”

“And neither will I,“ added Lucy.

Justin asked Lucy for her small facial mirror. She handed it over, and he held it up so Ian could see his reflection. “Look at yourself, Ian! You look like death! Your fur is even starting to fall out! You began this treatment to save your life, but it’s killing you instead.” Justin set the mirror aside. “Maybe the shots you’ve had won’t let you live as long as you’d like, but they’ll have to do - at least for now.”

Ian remained silent for a long time, then sighed. “I don’t agree - as far as I’m concerned, I’m ready for the fourth series of shots right now - but seeing as how I’m outvoted, I suppose I’ll be putting off the rest of the treatment for a while. Besides, I will want to go with you and Harry tomorrow. But venturing into Jenner’s territory is going to be dangerous, especially for Harry.”

“He knows. I’ve told him all about Jenner. Lucy wanted to come along too, but we wouldn’t allow it.” Justin eased Ian into a sleeping position as Lucy withdrew her hand from Ian’s box. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s best you rest up for tomorrow. I’ll tell Harry to bring you something good for dinner.”

Ian lay back and tried to make himself comfortable. “Maybe Harry will get that call after all, and he’ll hear that everything in town is okay, just like it should be.”

“Maybe,” said Justin. “But Jenner’s already killed four humans that we know of, and he has to be stopped. It may as well be tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, then.” Ian shuddered. “I can’t say that I’m looking forward to going back there, Justin.”


	26. Back to Town

Justin sat on Harry’s dashboard and watched with childlike fascination as the miles rolled by. The journey that took the rats weeks to make on foot was now being done by car in little more than half a day. Justin, whose only previous traveling in an automobile had been done in a dark, windowless trunk, viewed the scenes flashing by with an interest bordering on wonder.

It wasn’t the scenery alone that kept Justin glued to the windshield. He was also on the lookout for storm damage, to gauge for himself just how hard Giselle had hit the various neighborhoods and areas they passed through, and extrapolate from his own observations how badly Thorn Valley might have suffered.

The lack of flooded roads encouraged him, although it had now been several days since the storm had passed, giving the waters plenty of time to recede in areas less prone to flooding. In the end, he still had no idea what he would find upon reaching the colony - assuming Jenner’s war would leave any colony to return to.

Ian remained a good deal less enthusiastic about the trip, partly due to the pain and weakness he still felt from the treatment. He stayed in his stainless steel box, which Harry had placed on the passenger side floor.

As Ian had suspected, the return call from the county sheriff never came, so he had joined Harry and Justin for this drive to the heart of the problem. The prospect of facing Jenner again somewhat unnerved Ian; certainly the murderous rat would not have forgotten the crossbow bolt Ian had left in his arm.

When, early in the afternoon, Justin announced they were getting close to the town’s outskirts, Ian stood up in his box. “Justin, tell Harry to slow down and be on the lookout for anything strange. I don’t know what we’re going to find here, but I think we should be ready for anything.”

No sooner had Justin begun relaying Ian’s message to Harry than the road on either side of them exploded. The force of the blasts sent the car spinning out of control. Harry fought the wheel to keep the auto on the road, but the attempt proved futile. The car sped down an embankment and smashed head-on into a tree.

Both side doors flew open upon impact, while the car’s front end collapsed and crumpled like tin foil around the tree trunk. Then all was still.

A few seconds later Justin fell out of the passenger side to the ground. He was dazed, and blood flowed from a gash on his forehead. He staggered a few dozen steps away from the wrecked automobile, seeking to put the tree between himself and the vehicle in case it caught fire, then his strength gave out and he collapsed onto the soft earth between the mossy roots, unconscious.

When he woke up, Justin found Ian standing over him, wrapping a makeshift bandage of cloth around his head wound. “What happened?” Justin moaned.

“Near as I can tell, Jenner’s dynamited the road. Or someone has. I can only assume it was Jenner.” Ian tied the bandage in place. “Harry’s dead.”

Justin sat quietly as this terrible news sank in. “I’m sorry, Ian. I know you two were good friends. I suppose we were fortunate to have survived the crash ourselves.”

“It wasn’t the crash that killed him,” Ian forced out through gritted teeth.

“Huh?”

“Here, I’ll show you. Are you okay to walk?”

Justin got uncertainly to his feet. “I think so.”

“Follow me.” Ian led Justin around the tree and under the car to the driver’s side. Harry sat slumped over the steering wheel, unmoving. Ian jumped up onto the running board and pointed to the human’s feet. “Look at this.”

The bottom of Harry’s left pants leg was shredded to ribbons. Ian drew aside the torn fabric to reveal a number of deep cuts in the skin just above the ankle. “Wouldn’t one of the colony’s lances make wounds like that?”

“I suppose so,” said Justin.

Ian rubbed a forepaw in one of the lacerations until it was bloody, then held his stained hand up to Justin’s face. “Take a sniff of that.”

Justin inhaled. A sharp odor that burned his sinuses filled his nose, and he coughed to get it out. “What is it?”

“Cyanide.” Ian hopped out and went to the front of the car, where he thoroughly washed his forepaws with water trickling out of the radiator. “Jenner’s guards killed Harry.”

“No. I don’t believe it. Those were my guards before Jenner took over. and I know them. They’d never take a life with such cold calculation.”

“Not even a human life?”

“No. No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, the evidence on hand would beg to differ. And they’re not really the rats you knew anymore, not with the influence of the Stone working on them. We have to remember that, going forward.”

“Yes … yes, perhaps. But what would they have been doing all the way out here? We’re still far from the town center, and from the Fitzgibbon farm.”

“They probably heard and saw the explosion, and came out to investigate. Jenner doesn’t strike me as the type who would let something like that go.”

“How could they have gotten here so fast? And where are they now? Why didn’t they pick us up?”

“I don’t know!” Ian said, growing impatient with all these questions. “Maybe they were a perimeter patrol, scouting the outskirts of the town. Jenner could have lookouts posted along all the roads leading into town, perhaps with radios to alert other guards or call for backup. As for where they are now, it looks like we could have been out for an hour or two - plenty of time for them to have been here and gone again. And the guards would have been looking for humans, not rats. I was lying under the front seat, and you were on the other side of the car, partly hidden by the tree trunk. They simply overlooked us.”

“So, what now?”

Ian stood mulling this over before declaring the obvious. “We’ve got to kill Jenner. We must get the Stone away from him, and to do that, we must kill him first. It’s the only way.”

“But as long as he wears the amulet, Jenner’s as good as invincible … ”

“A theory I’d like to test. But if you’re right about that … hm. We can’t take the Stone from Jenner while he’s alive, and we can’t kill him as long as he’s wearing it. That’s a nasty little vicious circle. Still, we’ve got to try.”

“Yes,” Justin agreed. “And time’s running out. Lucy said she was going to call the National Guard if Harry hadn’t phoned her by tomorrow morning.”

Ian gazed up at the car. “Well, Harry sure won’t be calling her now. Come on. If we walk fast, we may be able to reach town by nightfall.”

Justin had thoughtfully brought along his sword and the crossbow from NIMH. Ian retrieved the weapons from the car, and the two of them started off along the grassy shoulder.

Ian spoke as they walked. “If Jenner’s mined this road, we can assume that he’s mined all the other roads heading into town … which would mean he has control of the entire town. I hate to say this, Justin, but this situation may already be out of our hands.”

Justin looked up at the woods around them. The road was the only sign of human civilization in sight. He could easily understand why Jenner had chosen to cut off the isolated little community from the rest of the human world. But how had he managed to keep it a secret?

As Ian and Justin neared a bend in the road, a high-pitched whining in the distance reached their ears. Stopping to see what it was, they heard the sound grow gradually louder, until finally a jeep rounded the curve and came into view …

A toy jeep. A remote-controlled model, no more than two feet long.

And at the wheel sat a rat dressed in the uniform of the colony Guard.

Ian grinned mirthlessly as the vehicle skidded to a stop. “What won’t they think of these days?”

“Hey, you there!” the guard barked. “Halt!”

“We can’t halt,” Ian retorted, “since we’re standing still at the moment.”

“Oh. Uh … ”

Justin studied the rat in the jeep. “Mallory, isn’t it?”

The guard straightened a bit. "Yes. Yes, sir! Uh, I mean … what’re you doing out here? None of us have seen you in weeks.”

“Just … laying low. Staying out of Jenner’s way.”

“Well, that’s a good place for you to stay, an’ if you don’t mind my saying, you might want to keep on doing that. Otherwise, I gotta take you to see him.”

Ian leaned in to Justin. “He’s offering us a chance to get away. Maybe the Stone’s not as powerful, this far away from Jenner … ”

“Something to keep in mind, although I’m not sure how it helps us now.”

“Hey! No whisp’rin’ where I can’t hear it!”

Justin faced Mallory with more assurance than he felt. “We’re going into town.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to see Jenner.”

“Oh. Well, then I guess I gotta take you. Hop in the back.”

Justin and Ian climbed into the jeep and seated themselves on the exceedingly uncomfortable hard molded plastic seats of the cargo bed, grabbing onto the roll bar for support. Mallory started the toy vehicle up again and spun it around in a u-turn, speeding back the way he’d come. His two passengers could now see that their driver steered it not with any kind of actual wheel but with the hand-held remote control which had been duct taped to the hood of the jeep, where Mallory could easily reach it. And filling the front passenger seat was a small walkie talkie, crackling an occasional burst of static.

“I’d phone this in,” Mallory said, almost apologetically, “but these radios don’t have great range, and they’d never hear me from out here.”

“Ah,” responded Justin, using his free paw to clutch at his bandaged head, which wasn’t being helped at all by the loud whine of the toy jeep or the walkie talkie’s static output.

“Nice little speedster you’ve got here,” Ian complimented their driver. “Where’d you get it?”

“Oh, we got a whole fleet of ‘em,” Mallory replied. “Raided the toy store for some, picked up others from various households … They musta been popular gifts last Christmas, an’ for birthdays too, ‘cos we found a lot of ‘em. Diff’rent makes an’ models, but they all get the job done.”

“Do they have all of you doing perimeter patrols out this far?”

“Yeah, but we use ‘em for all kinds of stuff. They get us around lots quicker than if we hadta hoof it everywhere.”

“I can imagine. But I’ve always heard these things eat up batteries like there’s no tomorrow. Guess you found a lot of those too?”

“Oh, we don’t use ‘em up as fast as all that. We made some modifications so they last lots longer.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Ian asked rhetorically.

“We got helicopters too,” Mallory added, almost as an afterthought.

“Helicopters?”

“Yup. And even a plane or two. All remote-controlled, like this one. Those’re good for when we really hafta get word somewhere fast, or for wide-area reconnaissance. You’d never get me up in one of them. Uh, unless Jenner says I gotta. Then I’d have no choice. But rats weren’t made for flying, and I’m just as happy keepin’ my paws on the ground!”

As Mallory nattered on, they sped past an overturned county sheriff’s car, doors open and no human occupants in sight. It looked slightly scorched.

“What’s the story with that?” Ian asked.

“Oh, that one came along … yesterday, was it? Or maybe the day before. But we took care of it, just like we take care of all of ‘em. Jenner’s orders.”

“Right,” Justin muttered. “Jenner’s orders.”

And on they sped, straight toward the heart of that very rat’s domain.


	27. Jenner's Plan

The first toy helicopter buzzed overhead as they approached the town center.

Its passage was hard to hear over the similar drone of the jeep, but it could clearly been seen cutting across the sky at a low altitude, skimming just above the rooftops of houses and businesses and weaving to avoid trees and poles. The two detainees assumed it operated the same as the ground vehicle, with the pilots using the remote control handsets to steer and fly. They idly wondered how difficult it was to manage such a feat, and whether any rats had been lost through trial and error in the course of making this squadron airborne, but kept their questions to themselves since it was hard conversing over the jeep’s constant whine.

Cutting through town, Mallory took them past the bank and a gas station and the municipal hall and the library and any number of stores, but they saw no sign of human activity anywhere. The place was as abandoned as if a plague had struck down the entire population. A few teams of rats could be seen here and there, engaged in various assignments no doubt related to the coming conflict with humanity at large, but that was the only sign of activity to meet the eye. Ian and Justin traded wordless glances any number of times, apparently having their worst fears confirmed by what they were seeing.

At one point, Justin did lean forward and ask Mallory, “What happened to everyone? Where are all the humans?”

“Jenner got ‘em out of the way. They won’t be bothering us anymore. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe for us.”

Justin leaned back, saying to himself, “But for how long?”

And then they were through the town and speeding back out toward more rural neighborhoods with wide spaces between residences and the occasional farm. It occurred to them that they must be making for one farm in particular, and those suspicions were soon confirmed as they pulled up in front of the Fitzgibbon’s house.

Afternoon was giving way to evening by this time, the sun having dropped below the horizon as they’d made their way through town. Two more guards marched out from the front porch to meet them as Mallory brought the jeep to a stop, bringing a merciful end to the toy motor’s buzz.

“Found these two out on the forest fringes by the south side of town. They want to see Jenner.”

Of course Justin recognized these two as well, and they clearly recognized him too as they turned appraising stares on him. “Do they now? Well, if that’s what they want … ”

Mallory climbed out of this jeep. “Okay, I’m done for the day. Those seats are really hard on the tail. Gonna grab some grub down in the commissary, then catch some rest before my night rotation. It’ll be a relief patrolling the farm on foot after all those hours cramped up in that contraption.”

As Mallory wandered off toward another part of the farmhouse, Justin and Ian’s new escorts took them up a wood ramp over the front steps and right in through the open front door. Justin tensed, so accustomed to associating this place with the dangers of the family cat Dragon - this was, after all, where Jonathan Brisby had met his end at the claws of that feline terror while helping the rats - but then Justin reminded himself that Dragon was gone, along with the rest of the Fitzgibbon family. The openness with which the rats operated here testified well enough to that.

The guards took them up to a second-story bedroom, via a crude rat-sized elevator which had been installed alongside the human staircase. There they found Jenner.

The lights in the room were on, but it was still plain to see that the Stone around Jenner’s neck glowed brightly. He was dressed in his usual splendid garments, and seemed to have the bedroom all to himself, standing on a cleared writing desk that looked out over the farmyard. A sense of invulnerability surrounded him that was subtly different than anything Justin or Ian had seen before - not mere arrogance or confidence, but something more profound. It was almost as if Jenner had undergone some manner of transformation in his essence, even if he did in truth still look exactly the same.

“Sir, these two were found wandering around on the outskirts of town,” said one guard. “Apparently, they wanted to see you.”

“Did they now?” Jenner gazed coldly at Ian and Justin. “Wait in the hall,” he told the guards. Obediently they left the room.

Jenner approached his prisoners, appraising them. “Well, well. You’ve certainly been keeping low profiles for yourselves. I was beginning to think you’d left the county.”

“Now why would we have done a thing like that?” Ian asked rhetorically.

“Why indeed?” Jenner studied Justin’s slightly bloodied head bandage and quipped, “Cut yourself shaving?”

“Accident, actually.”

Jenner’s formidable eyebrows went up. “Accident?”

“Yeah. One of your toy helicopters crashed into my face.”

“Ah. That’s humorous. For a moment I thought you might be referring to the latest human incursion earlier today. That would not have been nearly so funny.” Jenner turned his attention to Ian. “And what happened to you? You look like you’re at death’s door.”

Ian shrugged. “What can I say? Life on the run hasn’t agreed with me.”

“It appears not. But you were both wise to stay hidden for so long. If you’d been brought before me earlier, I certainly would have had you both killed.”

“You mean, you’re not now?” Justin asked, incredulous.

“Why should I? You cannot harm me now. And, after all, we are still brothers, despite our differences.”

“I would implore you not to call me ‘brother,’” Justin snarled.

“But we are. You are not my enemies - the human race is.” Jenner spread his arms. “Our day of triumph draws near. I offer you both one last chance to join me. Accept, and enjoy the fruits of our victory.”

“What victory?” snapped Justin. “Just because you were able to kill a small town of humans, what makes you think you can destroy them all?”

“Kill a town?” Jenner laughed. “The humans in this town aren’t dead! Not most of them, anyway. They sleep, because I will them to!” Jenner held up the glowing amulet. “With the power of the Stone, I can control them as easily as I can control you. No humans will oppose us if I order them not to.”

“Speaking of humans …. ” Ian glanced around the bedroom; the empty bed had its covers squarely made and the pillows neatly in place. “What happened to the … former occupants of this residence?”

“You didn’t think I was going to leave them just lying around in here, did you? We gave them to the fields they loved so much; let them feed their own crops. I felt it only appropriately symbolic to establish my headquarters here, on the property where we dwelt for so many years under our rosebush. I’d considered moving right into their town hall, but this location suits us better, on the whole.”

Ian, still feeling the effects of his recent treatments, was struggling to keep his eyes open and began to sway on his legs. Jenner smiled at this display of physical weakness.

“I see the old doctor is tired. Guards!” Immediately, the two armed escorts who’d shown Justin and Ian into the bedroom appeared from the hallway beyond and snapped to attention down on the carpeted floor. “Take them to the basement and see that they get a place to sleep,” he ordered. “And keep them under close watch at all times.” Jenner turned back to Ian and Justin. “As a token of my good faith, I will let you spend the night here. I will talk with you more in the morning.”

The guards led Ian and Justin to the basement. There they saw three human-sized mattresses pushed together into a large rectangle on the floor, with many smaller squares of individual bedding laid atop them - the makeshift barracks for Jenner’s army. Along one wall, a commissary of sorts had been set up, with staff from the colony kitchens doling out food to a line of waiting rats.

“Nice little setup they’ve got here,” Ian remarked. “You’d almost think this was a regular military base.”

They were shown to adjacent bed spaces of their own on one mattress, where both gratefully lay down while another guard stood watch over them from a few inches away. Justin, fussing at his head bandage, whispered to Ian, “What do you make of the situation?”

“It’s good that the humans of the town aren’t all dead. But the other rats are more under Jenner’s spell than ever.”

“So it appears. Why didn’t he kill us?”

“I think he’s become convinced of his own indestructibility,” Ian answered. “He thinks he’s a god. He didn’t even take your sword away, that’s how sure he is of himself.”

“My sword! Why didn’t I think of that? That blow I took to the head must have scrambled my brains more than I realized. I could have killed him just now - I was certainly close enough.”

Ian shook his head, “No, you couldn’t have. We were under his control. I had my crossbow, and I wanted to plant a bolt between his eyes as badly as I’ve ever wanted to do anything, but Jenner wouldn’t let me. We have to figure out some other way to stop him. I’m just not sure what that might be.”

Most of the other rats had watched with rapt interest as Justin and Ian had been led down into the basement and shown to their sleeping arrangements. Many whispered to each other, and now one approached, ignoring the guard who shot him a suspicious look. But Jenner had not said anything about keeping the others away from Justin and Ian, so the guard contented himself with merely monitoring from a distance.

The deposed President looked up at an old friend. “Caesar! How are you doing?”

“How are any of us doing?” the cropmaster echoed, lowering himself to his haunches alongside them. “Where have you been? We were all worried that … well, we’ve been worried for you. Are you all right?”

“I’ve been better,” Justin admitted. “And I’ll need to get to sleep pretty soon, after the day I’ve had. But first, you must fill us in on everything you can about what’s been going on here.”

Caesar shrugged. “What’s to tell? Jenner’s got us all here working on whatever he tells us to. All my crop workers, preparing for some kind of war … what do we known about war? We’re not soldiers.”

“How many did he bring along? How many are still at the colony?”

“All the adult males are here, along with quite a few of the females too, as support staff - mostly kitchen workers, to help out with the commissary, along with a few from the garment shops, to help mend any torn clothes. It’s pretty much just the children left behind in Thorn Valley, along with the bare minimum of caretakers to look after them.”

“Pretty much what we’d figured,” Ian said to Justin.

“Has anyone been in touch with the colony recently?” Justin pressed on. “Do we know how they fared during that tropical storm that moved through here?”

“No, although that’s been a worry of ours too. Came down in buckets, over the course of two days. We had to suspend all outdoor operations until it blew over. But Jenner’s not about to spare anyone here to go running back to Thorn Valley to check on those we left behind.”

“Idiot!” Justin softly swore. “What about here? Any casualties yet?”

“Not on our side, that I know of,” Caesar replied. “There hasn’t been any actual fighting yet, just preparations. With the whole town asleep, we’ve been able to move freely, wherever we want. Jenner’s had Arthur and Bryant and Horace and the rest running all over town, digging up anything he thinks we can use. Oh, and Mr. Ages has been drafted into Jenner’s service too.” Caesar looked to Ian. “He brought that mouse in to serve as his doctor after you made your getaway.”

“Is Ages okay?” Justin asked with concern.

“So far, he is. Jenner’s got him working at the town pharmacy, lining up all the medicines and supplies we’ll need if this comes to all-out war. Ages knows better than to cross our new President. Not that he has much choice in the matter. Not that any of us do.”

“What about the Brisbys? Has Jenner troubled them at all?”

“Not that I’ve heard. Those mice wouldn’t even be on the farm this time of year, and Jenner’s got too much else on his mind to bother with anyone who’s not bothering him.”

Justin gave the agricultural rat an imploring look. “Caesar - just how tight is Jenner’s hold on everyone here? Has there been any resistance at all?”

Caesar shook his head. “As long as he’s got that Stone, we have no choice but to obey him. If anything, it’s even gotten worse with the passage of time. The longer he wears it, and the longer he plies its power, the stronger he becomes. And ever since he killed the Great Owl, it’s only - ”

“He killed the Great Owl?!” Justin interjected.

“He sure did. With one of those new electric backpack crossbows some of the guards have started carrying. The owl tried to take the Stone away, but Jenner killed him and took it back.”

A look of forlorn regret crossed Ian’s face. “Maybe inventing those wasn’t such a great idea after all … ”

“But here’s the thing,” Caesar went on, lowering his voice. “The owl said something about the maker of the Stone wanting it back. That left us all asking what that was about, and wondering whether someone else might be showing up to demand it back from Jenner.”

“Is it possible the owl made the Stone?” Justin pondered aloud.

“I don’t think so. He made it sound like he was getting it back for someone else. Question is, who? That’s what we’ve all been asking each other.”

“Well, if they haven’t come for it by now,” said Ian, “I’m not sure we can count on them showing up - or that they’d have any better luck taking it from Jenner than the owl did.”

Justin nodded in reluctant agreement. “The fact that they sent the owl suggests they might not be able to stand up to Jenner themselves, and they know it. Still, if there’s someone out there claiming to have made the Stone, it would be nice to know who they are, and whether there’s anything to their claims.”

“Then I say we sleep on that mystery,” Ian proposed. “I’m exhausted, and you need rest too, with that head wound.”

“Yes, of course.” Justin reached out and clasped paws with the other rat. “Thank you, Caesar. You’ve told us a great deal. Look to yourself now, and the others, and we’ll see if we can’t all get through this with our lives.”

“We’ll do what we can … sir.” Caesar rose and wandered off to his own sleeping spot, leaving Justin and Ian to lie down and catch what rest they could.

They slept uneasily, waking in the morning to a meager breakfast, after which a guard took them to see Jenner again.

They ended up on the roof, where a lookout platform had been built onto the highest peak. Jenner stood upon it now, gazing out over his newly-acquired domain.

Jenner drew a deep breath. “Glorious morning! Don’t you agree?”

“Glorious,” Justin hollowly echoed.

“Have you decided to join me?” Jenner asked.

“I swore that I would kill you if I ever got the chance,” said Justin, “and that’s an oath I intend to make good on if I can.”

“Oh.” Jenner turned to Ian. “And what about you?”

“I might, if I thought you had a chance. You’re going to lose, Jenner, and I can only pray that this foolish venture you’ve undertaken doesn’t lead to the total destruction of the rats of NIMH.”

Jenner looked back out over the countryside. “I like it up here. One can see the entire town.” He handed Ian a spyglass. “About half a mile to the south is a railroad siding that branches off a statewide mainline. Look at it through there, and tell me what you see.”

Ian trained his sights where he’d been told.” “Good god!” he muttered, and lowered the glass. “Is that thing full?”

“To the brim,” Jenner answered proudly. “Or at least it was, until we started tapping it.”

“What is it?” Justin asked.

“A tank car, filled with about thirty thousand gallons of industrial cyanide.” Ian looked wonderingly at Jenner. “You could wipe out half the state with that. How ever did you get your paws on it?”

“Oh, I simply borrowed it from a passing train. The trainmen don’t even remember being stopped. Right now, of course, crews of rats are working around the clock, making gas bombs.”

Justin took the telescope from Ian and studied the tank car through the spyglass himself. “And what exactly do you plan to do with those bombs once they’re all built?”

Jenner gave one of his most deliciously malicious grins. “Funny you should ask. In a little over three months, the President of the United States will give his State of the Union address. The Vice President will also be present, as will most members of Congress and the Senate. I figure twenty to thirty small bombs, concealed in the Capitol building ahead of time, will be sufficient to fumigate the lot of them.”

Justin stood staggered by the boldness of this scheme. “It would never work! Ian, tell him it’ll never work!”

Ian let a smile slip onto his lips and shook his head. “Brilliant! Simply brilliant! The humans wouldn’t have tight enough security to keep rats out - at least not intelligent rats. You would make a clean sweep of this country’s leaders, Jenner.”

“Its human leaders,” Jenner corrected. “And even more importantly, the address will be televised live, from coast to coast. The humans will see their leaders killed right before their eyes.”

“And that would unleash chaos throughout the nation. The whole governmental system may even collapse entirely. That’s a stroke of propaganda genius.”

Justin was about to take Ian aside for agreeing so wholeheartedly with Jenner when an explosion sounded from the distance and a plume of black smoke rose up from the outskirts of town. “It appears another human vehicle has found one of our mines,” Jenner said. He took the spyglass from Justin and searched for the source of the smoke. “Hm. Can’t tell what it was from here. No matter - our scouts will find out soon enough, and deal with it accordingly.” Jenner folded up the telescope and stashed it away within his robes. “What do you say now, Ian? Will you join us?”

Ian stood silently considering this invitation. Justin was shocked that the former human would even appear to consider joining Jenner. Finally Ian said, “I’ll let you know tonight.”

Jenner chuckled, “What could possibly happen before this day is out that would make up your mind?”

Ian cocked a knowing eyebrow. “You’d be surprised what could happen in one day.”

“In that case, let me show you some of our other accomplishments.” Jenner motioned to the guard. “Lead us to the equipment shed. Justin, you may as well come along, though don’t expect to be with us for too much longer.” Justin didn’t have to ask Jenner what he meant by that remark.

They left the rooftop platform and descended through the house into the backyard. Alongside the tractor shed stood three devices made of long, four-inch pipes on wheeled turntables. Jenner halted the procession by them.

“One day soon, we shall come out of hiding and fight the humans on their own terms. When we do, we shall need new weapons, such as these.”

“Mortars?” Ian guessed.

“Basically, yes,” Jenner said, “although these are far more accurate than mortars. Each one can be sighted like a rifle. And their range is up to a quarter of a mile.”

“Impressive,” Ian said with a nod. “I have a feeling you may be using them sooner than you expect.”

“What does that mean?” Jenner demanded.

Ian took his time in answering. He never got a chance to, for just then the buzzing whirr of a toy helicopter intruded upon the scene. The pilot, homing in on the farmhouse, hit the ground near the shed so hard that it almost qualified as a crash landing, then tumbled out of the cockpit and ran up to Jenner. “Sir! The humans are attacking us!”

“Attacking? What do you mean, attacking?”

“A whole line of vehicles, sir, from the east. Our mines stopped one or two, but the rest are rolling right into town. And they have guns, sir. Giant guns! They’ll be here any minute!”

Jenner stared malevolently at Ian. “How did you know?”

Ian shrugged. “Lucky guess?”

“I don’t think so,” Jenner growled. “You’re working with the humans, aren’t you!” He advanced on Ian, the Stone glowing brighter.

Ian stepped back from Jenner. “You’re a fool if you waste your time on me, because in a few minutes you’ll have more on your paws than you can possibly handle.”

Jenner drew his sword, but then froze as a chugging, pounding sound filled the air. He looked over his shoulder and saw another helicopter bearing down on the farm - but this one was no toy, and bore the markings of the Air National Guard.


	28. The Battle

“Shoot it down!” Jenner roared, pointing his sword at the approaching helicopter. “Knock it out of the sky!”

Two rats heaved a massive projectile up to one of the guns and loaded it into the breech of the cannon’s pipe-like barrel. As the copter passed overhead, they took aim and fired.

The shot landed squarely on target, and the flying machine’s engine burst into flames. Sputtering, the craft spun wildly, quickly losing altitude, and came to a rough landing in the middle of the corn field. Both men within jumped out and got clear of the wreck seconds before flames found the gas tank and the downed helicopter exploded in a fireball, setting the field ablaze.

“We did it!” Jenner cried triumphantly. “Go find the human pilots and kill them! They must not be allowed to escape!” Several guards raced toward the burning field to carry out the orders. Jenner faced Ian. “Don’t think I’m done with you yet! I’ll see to you after I’ve finished with your human friends!”

“Good luck with that,” Ian said to him. “Now that you’ve shot down that copter, you’ve given away your exact position. The National Guard will be on your doorstep in another minute or so.”

“Let them come! We’ll be ready for them!” Jenner turned to the other rats. “Move the artillery to the front of the house! Hide it in the shrubbery! We’ll ambush them!”

The rat-built rifled mortars were mounted on carriages with ball-bearing wheels that allowed for easy deployment with minimal muscle power. In no time at all the gunnery crews had the weapons on the move, pulling them around the side of the house to the front yard. Jenner grimaced at Ian, then hurried into the equipment shed. Justin said, “Is there anything we can do to stop him?”

Ian shrugged. “It’s gone too far already. If Jenner doesn’t win this battle now, the humans will destroy us to the very last rat. I’m almost hoping he is victorious.”

“Then he’ll almost surely kill us both.”

“Yes, I know.” Ian started into the tractor shed. “At least the humans don’t know where the colony is. If there’s any bright spot in all this, that’s it.”

“Where are you going?”

“I want to keep an eye on Jenner. He may get careless and let me have a chance to get the Stone away from him. You coming?”

“Uh … I guess so.” Justin ran after Ian.

A plank incline, laid at a forty-five degree angle, served as a ramp from the floor to the shed’s main work shelf. Ian and Justin climbed the plank and found a command center of sorts on the higher level, with Jenner jabbering into a radio. “Get those gas bombs over here as soon as you can. We need them for the ambush.” He glanced up and saw the two of them standing upon the shelf looking on. “Get out of here!”

“Why?” said Justin. “We can’t hurt you. You won’t let us.”

Jenner started to order a nearby guard to throw Ian and Justin out of the shed when the sound of gunfire reached them from the front of the house, followed by an explosion and more shots. Jenner pushed past his two adversaries to race down the ramp and hurry outside.

The gunnery crews were running back toward the shed as fast as their legs could carry them. “What happened?” Jenner yelled.

“They came before we were ready, sir,” one of the retreating rats breathlessly reported. “They’ve destroyed the artillery and set fire to the farmhouse!”

“Damn them! What about casualties?”

“At least one dead. I don’t know how many injured.” As he spoke, a heavy rumbling came from behind him. An armored tank nosed its way around the corner of the burning house and ground its way slowly toward the equipment shed. The rat gunner took one look at the advancing vehicle and continued his retreat, along with most of his fellows. More rats from inside the house, realizing it was ablaze, poured out through the cellar windows and joined in the retreat.

Ian and Justin had by that time made their way out of the shed to the scene of the suddenly-lopsided battle. They saw Jenner jump atop a tree stump that lay directly in the tank’s path, gripping the amulet for all he was worth. ”Stop!” he bellowed, as the Stone’s radiance became blinding. “I order you to stop!”

The tank ground to a halt.

Jenner raised the Stone, now glowing like a tiny sun, over his head and focused all his energies upon the tank. Within seconds, wisps of steam could be seen curling up off the surface of the steel armor. The barrel began to turn red and then sag as the power of the Stone heated it.

Ian turned to Justin. “This is our chance! That tank is consuming all his attention and energy. He’ll be vulnerable to attack.”

“Except that the guards took away your crossbow when they escorted us out of the cellar to see Jenner.”

“But they didn’t take away your sword. This’s gonna have to be your show, buddy. And it’s now or never.”

The crew inside the tank emerged through the hatch on top and abandoned it.

Justin drew his sword and started toward the tree stump.

Jenner’s concentration remained fixed on the tank, the whole thing glowing red and beginning to lose its shape.

Justin reached the stump and bounded up onto it - then found himself hurled backward through the air in a flash of red, landing hard at the base of the stump with his breath knocked out of him.

Jenner spared not a glance for the repelled rodent threat, scarcely even aware of it. Before him, the whole tank sagged into an irregular lump, all its parts and armor and weaponry fused into a useless mass.

The gray rat slowly lowered the Stone, awed by what he had done. Then he spun round to address the large group that had gathered at the door of the equipment shed. “We can win!” he screamed. “They have no defense against the Stone! We will win!”

Ian rushed to Justin’s side, finding his companion dazed but otherwise apparently unharmed. Justin shook his head. “It’s no use. The Stone protects him, even without his direction or awareness. We won’t be able to take him out.”

Ian helped Justin to his feet. “Then I don’t think anyone else will either.”

The tide of battle had turned against the humans. Bearing the amulet before him, Jenner was able to put all the soldiers into a comatose state so that they, like the rest of the town, slept. As they did so, Jenner destroyed every last one of their weapons.

And so it was that, scarcely half an hour after the first tank was destroyed, the commander of the National Guard’s forces was brought before Jenner in the shed, his men unconscious and his weapons useless slag heaps of melted steel.

The human knelt dumbfounded before Jenner as the rat regarded him from the command center on the shed work shelf. “Nod if you can understand me,” the triumphant rat ordered, fingering the amulet to will such communication.

The man nodded. “Good,” Jenner continued. “That will make things much easier, Captain - ” he read the name tag on the uniform pocket, “ - Jamison. I want to know exactly what other measures I can expect to be taken against us. Will another force follow yours?” Jamison said nothing. Jenner tightened his grip on the Stone. “Tell me, now!”

“If we do not report back,” Jamison stuttered, “more will come.”

“When?”

“I don’t know.” Jamison shook his head, staring at Jenner in mortification. “My god, when they said intelligent rats, I never imagined … ”

“So you underestimated us,” Jenner sneered, “a mistake all the humans will make.”

“Whatever you’re trying to do, you’ll never get away with it. Right now your homes are being destroyed, and soon you will be too.”

“The colony?” Jenner’s eyes narrowed. “You’re bluffing! You can’t possibly know where the colony is!”

“But we do!” Jamison swore. “It’s in the Thorn Valley area of the state park, about ten miles from here!”

The rats in the shed - and there were a lot of them by this time, having been lured back from their panicked retreat once the battle had turned in Jenner’s favor - stood shocked into silence. Justin and Ian had been brought up to the command center as well, to witness Jenner’s victory. Now Justin turned to his companion, frantically whispering, “They’ve discovered where the colony is! What are we going to do?”

Ian bowed his head. “Pray for a miracle.”

Jenner couldn’t believe his ears. “How could you have … ” He turned his eyes on Ian. “You! You told them!” Jenner, sword in paw, leapt at Ian. Justin drew his own sword and stepped between them - and this time, no red flash knocked him aside or robbed him of his weapon.

“No, Jenner! Ian didn’t tell them!”

“He knew they were coming! It had to be him - unless it was you.” Jenner’s burning green eyes went from one to the other. “I’ll kill you both! Traitors!” Jenner moved toward Justin, but found his way suddenly blocked by several other rats who’d stepped between him and his quarry. “What are you doing? Get out of my way!”

“No,” one rat in a guard uniform said firmly. “Ian and Justin are our friends. We won’t let you kill them.”

“They’re working with the humans!” Jenner cried. “They’re our enemies!”

“Ian saved my daughter’s life,” said another rat. “He’s no enemy … you are!”

Jenner held up the amulet to will the other rats back in line, but the light from the heart of the Stone only grew dimmer, not brighter. Jenner’s power was mysteriously fading.

“Our homes and our families are being destroyed!” The rats now cried out openly against Jenner. “You’ve led us to our doom!”

Justin hopped up onto a paint can on the shelf. “Friends, hear me! It may still be possible to save the colony. We must surrender to the humans … let them know we want peace. If we give up now, they may spare the colony.”

“Don’t listen to him!” Jenner yelled. “If we surrender, they’ll kill us all! Or worse yet, they’ll send us back to NIMH to put us through more tortures! Our only hope lies in strength!”

“I would gladly go back to NIMH,” a rat in the crowd answered, “if that’s our only chance to save my wife and children!” A murmur of agreement came from the rest of the rats.

Jenner raised the Stone high, and some semblance of its former brilliance returned, if only sputteringly, weakly. The rats grew silent as he regained a modicum of control over their minds. “No!” he commanded. “We will not surrender! I forbid it! We shall fight on until we win!”

The inside of the shed suddenly lit up in a blaze of dozens of different colors. A twisting spiral of ever-changing hues appeared in mid-air and touched down on the shelf like a miniature tornado, its coming accompanied by a deafening whine. The rats on the shelf dove aside to make way for it.

The sound died away and the otherworldly spiral disappeared. In its place was the strangest entity any of the rats had ever seen. A mushroom dome of a head stood supported by three slender central legs, slightly splayed, while five jointless arms dangled from around the edge of the dome/body/head. About a foot and a half tall, it didn’t seem to have any front or back, nor did it possess any discernible face - just glowing red eyes scattered randomly all over the top and sides of the dome. The smooth, hairless flesh, just a tad too yellow to be called brown and a tad too brown to be called yellow, could as easily have been supple plastic as leathery skin, and the hard nubs at the ends of the feet were not so much hooves as hard molded end caps; if they were shoes of some sort, they were the only clothing it wore … unless the entire thing was a bizarre suit, with the wearer encased within.

A tangy whiff of ozone hung on the air, the smell of a summer evening thunderstorm, or an electrical short circuit.

The thing inclined its dome toward Jenner and reached out an arm. When it spoke, it was as if many voices were sounding at once.

“Jenner. Give us the Stone.”


	29. The Vok

Jenner took a few halting steps back from the creature. “Who are you?”

“We are the maker of the Stone,” it answered. “The time has come for us to reclaim it. Give it to us.”

“No!” Jenner folded his forepaws over the amulet to protect it.

The creature moved toward the rat. Its three legs stepped in a spiral pattern so that the whole thing spun slowly as it walked. The peculiar gait produced a three-quarter time tattoo upon the wood shelf - clopclopclop, clopclopclop. It stopped before Jenner and again outstretched a claw. “Give us the stone.”

Jenner lifted the pendant toward the thing, summoning every reserve of strength and will he could muster. A streak of red shot out from the Stone, striking the creature in its dome-shaped head. It swayed back slightly from the force of the blast, the crimson energies rippling across its surface and swirling in tiny eddies around each of its various red eyes before dissipating. The entity straightened, seeming to have absorbed Jenner’s onslaught with no ill effects.

Jenner’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

The creature dipped one edge of its dome toward Jenner, almost as if in a reverential bow. Instead, all its eyes flared to life, erupting and uniting into a river of red light that blasted out toward the rat. The force lifted Jenner right off his feet and flattened him against the wall of the shed. As the flash died away, his form limply fell forward and lay still.

The entity reached down to Jenner and pulled the amulet off over his head. Then, working at the pendant with two adjacent claws, it peeled the gold setting away from the jewel and held up the naked Stone as if to examine it. Instead, a puckering hole appeared in its head, and it popped the stone into the newly-formed cavity. The flesh closed in around the Stone, sealing it in place. The creature now had one more glowing red eye in its head.

Justin made his way to Jenner, giving the creature as wide a berth as the limited shelf space allowed. He bent down to his enemy’s unmoving form and felt for a pulse.

“He lives,” the creature assured Justin in its many-voices-speaking-as-one manner, “although when he awakens he will be in considerable pain.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Justin rose and nervously approached the thing. “What … are you, and where do you come from … if I may ask?”

“You may.” As the creature spoke, its myriad red eyes flickered, almost in time with its words, but not quite. “We are the Vok, maker of the Mind Stones. Our origin is a world far distant from yours, but we visit many planets in our travels.”

“The Vok - is that your race? How many of you are there?”

“We are only what you see before you, and we are many.”

“Um … ”

Ian, standing back but hanging on every word, murmured to himself, “Group mind … group organism … fascinating.”

Justin quelled his own scientific fascination to focus on more immediate concerns. “How is it that your Stone came into our possession?” 

“When we first came to your world,” the Vok explained, “we deemed it wise to only contact a few of the higher animals. The humans were obviously unsuitable to learn of our presence, and most of the lower creatures wanted nothing to do with us. But there were a few, and one of them was the Great Owl of the forest near here.

“We met with the Great Owl many times, and we talked of many things. It was during one of these meetings that he told us of Nicodemus and the rats made intelligent through human experimentation. He told us of their desire to begin their own civilization away from the human world, and he asked us to help them along. We agreed to do so, and sent the Stone to Nicodemus for that purpose.

“This year we decided that your people no longer needed the Mind Stone, and engaged Jenner to retrieve it. He did not fulfill the bargain, so we came to take the Stone from him ourself.”

“You’re been watching us?”

“We have,” the Vok answered.

“Then why in heaven’s sake didn’t you come forward before now?” Justin cried. “The rats of NIMH now face extinction thanks to what Jenner was able to do with the Stone.”

“We do not act quickly or in haste,” the Vok said. “The streams are all important, and must be observed. All currents, all juncture points. Some events must happen as they must. We came when we were ready, and when the flows allowed. We regret that two intelligent races have come into conflict, but from that conflict arise new pathways, new opportunities.”

Justin knelt before the Vok. “Without the Stone, we are defenseless. The humans will surely destroy us. You helped us before; I beg of you to help us again. Save the colony, please. That’s all I ask.”

“The colony is safe,” the Vok intoned. “We protect it. But we cannot do so much longer. The final decision as to whether there will be peace lies with you and the humans.”

“But the humans want to exterminate us!” Justin protested.

“Are you so sure of that?” The Vok pointed at Captain Jamison, who still knelt upon the floor of the shed, watching and listening to what was going on but not really believing it. “There is a human right here. Tell him that you want peace. That seems to me the best place to start.”

Ian approached the Vok. “Excuse me, but I think I might be of some help in this situation. Could you make it so that I can be understood by humans?”

The Vok regarded Ian. “Why is it not that way now?”

“I’m not like the rest of these rats. My name is Ian Hargraves, and I was a human scientist at NIMH before an experiment moved my mind into this body.”

The other rats on the shelf gasped at Ian’s revelation, but the Vok seemed delighted, if that entity was even capable of such a thing as delight. “A human mind in a rat body! The ideal mediator for these talks!” The alien stepped back, and Ian felt … something … going on in his throat. Not quite painful, but definitely uncomfortable and downright unnerving as he felt the tissues and musculature there shifting and adjusting as if invisible hands worked his living flesh like clay. “It is done. The humans can now understand you.”

Ian stepped to the edge of the shelf and looked down at Captain Jamison. “You’ve heard what we’ve been saying. We want peace, but we’re not about to let ourselves be slaughtered. I want you to tell your superiors to have Vincent Hartman flown here.”

“I … I couldn’t do that!” Jamison declared. “The Secretary of State is too busy with international affairs to come here on such short notice!”

“As long as we are here,” the Vok reminded the guardsman, “this is an interplanetary affair.”

“But I’m just a captain in the National Guard,” said Jamison. “There’s no way I can get Secretary of State Hartman here. You may as well ask for a meeting with the President!”

“I was tempted to,” Ian told him, “but I think Hartman will be easier to negotiate with.”

“Describe the situation to your superiors,” the Vok ordered, “and Hartman will come. The entire town - including your troops - shall remain immobilized until we are satisfied that a peaceful solution has been reached. Go now to your vehicles and radio in as we have told you.”

Jamison stood and left the shed. As he watched the human go, Justin worried aloud, “How can we be sure that we can trust him?”

The Vok’s eyes glowed red. “He shall do as we told him, because we will him to.”

Ian looked at the Vok, then grinned at Justin. “Well, it seems that miracle I was praying for came through.”


	30. A Most Extraordinary Council

Every rat abroad in the town and its outskirts felt Jenner’s power fall away, leaving them free to exercise their own will and independent thought once more. And, having regained their powers of self-determination, they all knew what to do.

Within minutes of the Vok’s arrival, every rat of NIMH not already at the farm turned that way, staging a massed if haphazard strategic withdrawal from the human territory Jenner had worked so hard to conquer.

With the straining, high-pitched whine of its tiny motor, accompanied by the crunching of the substrate under its equally tiny wheels, one of the toy jeeps careened around the side of the smoldering farmhouse and alongside the melted tank, skidding to a halt before the equipment shed. Out of the vehicle piled Arthur and his two assistants, fresh from their now-aborted supply missions in the town. Hot on their heels came a toy dune buggy, pulling up behind the jeep; Councilrat Bryant and his driver extricated themselves from the miniature seats and ran after Arthur toward the shed. And a short distance away, one of the remote-controlled helicopters bounced to a landing, and the pilot hastily disembarked with his passenger Mr. Ages straddled across his neck.

“I am never doing that again,” the fussy old mouse declared as he found his feet on solid ground. “Not ever. Now, let’s see what all the fuss here is about, shall we?”

Clancy, acting as the Captain of the Guard in the absence of his proper superior Brutus, ran about this way and that coordinating all these new arrivals and directing the more important figures toward the shed where Justin awaited.

Each and every one of them was struck speechless at the sight of the Vok standing by the wall of the shed over Jenner’s comatose form. Justin was soon forced through sheer repetition to resort to a shorthand explanation for each new rat who showed up at the command center.

“It’s an alien, it’s called the Vok, that’s where the Stone came from and now it’s taken it back, it’s protecting the colony and helping us negotiate a peace with the humans, Jenner’s stunned but alive, and please don’t ask me to explain any further than that.”

In short order, Justin found himself surrounded by the entire ruling body of the colony, making it official with a verbal roll call.

“Arthur, Bryant, Rogan, Prescott, Oliver, Cornelius, Neville, Taylor … good, we’re all here. We’re about to hold the most unusual Council meeting we’ve ever convened in the history of the colony - and perhaps the most crucial. Mr. Ages, I’ll value any input you have to offer, so you can sit in on this too, even if we’re all standing. Ian, you’re included as well, of course. We don’t have much time, so let’s get started.”

“I have qualms about the entire leadership of the colony being gathered here in one place,” said Bryant, a tall lean rat who specialized in security and military matters. “If the humans call in a missile strike … ”

“On a tractor shed?” Justin asked, incredulous.

“Precisely on a tractor shed,” Bryant drove home. “That soldier you sent out to call in a senior human negotiator could just as easily be calling in air support, and giving our coordinates.”

“He is not,” the Vok weighed in, red light chasing and rippling across the Mind Stones in its dome-head while its multi-voices filled the shed, startling the rats there who had not yet seen or heard the entity speak. “He has done only as we willed him to do.”

“So,” Justin primly prompted of the Vok, “no air strike?”

“We would not allow it.”

“Good enough for me. Now, on to the matters at hand … ”

Rogan glared at Ian. “He can’t be part of this, Justin. There’s no place for a … human in our deliberations.”

Arthur and Ages and some of the other latecomers looked from Rogan to Ian and back again in confusion. “Human?” Arthur echoed. “What are you talking about?”

“I heard him with my own ears,” Rogan insisted. “We all did, all of us who were here. He admitted it himself. Go ahead, tell them.”

Ian braced himself as he met one gaze after the other. “It’s true. I was a researcher at NIMH, investigating the nature of consciousness, and an experiment transferred my human mind into this body. I am … human.”

“In mind, if not in body,” Justin added with a slight smirk that only Ian understood.

Arthur mulled this over. “Well, that’s … something.”

“I knew it!” Ages burst out. “I knew there was something about that rat!”

“You and me both,” Rogan added.

Bryant looked to Justin. “And you knew about this?”

“I have, since just before Jenner showed up in the colony. Ian confided in me, and I heard him out. Now, before you all start shouting and things get out of hand, let me stress that I have had ample opportunity to get to know Ian far better than any of you do, and I trust him. I trust him completely. And all of you should too.”

“And that’s it?!” Rogan exploded. “We’re just supposed to take your word on something like this?”

“Let me be absolutely clear about this,” Justin said in his most authoritative tone. “If you have a problem with Ian, you have a problem with me. Understood?”

Ian smirked and gestured toward Justin. “What he said.”

Bryant studied Ian with his usual critical eye. “Is he even well? He looks like he could keel over at any moment.”

“I very well may,” Ian conceded, looking to Rogan, who stood simmering and smoldering. “And then at least all your problems will be over.”

Rogan tried a different approach, addressing Justin once more. “So, are you even still President?”

Justin bristled at this. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because,” Rogan pounced, “you’re not wearing the Stone. Our Constitution says the President must wear the Stone as a symbol of his office.”

“He’s right,” Oliver, the colony’s leading expert on matters of law and procedure, was forced to agree. “Our Constitution does say that.”

Justin sighed, then turned to the alien. “Vok?”

“Yes?”

“Will you be giving the Stone back to us?”

“We will not.”

Justin turned back to Rogan and gave a sarcastic shrug. “By your assertion, we can never have another President again. Our Constitution will have to be amended to account for the lack of the Stone; it’s as simple as that. Now can we please get to what’s important?”

“Forget the Stone, then,” said Rogan. “Let’s talk about your conduct instead. Where were you when all of us were stuck here dealing with Jenner? Where was our leader when we most needed him?”

Justin scoffed. “For one thing, Jenner wanted me dead, and I fled for my very life, knowing he’d kill me if I showed my face again. For another, I was investigating other avenues to deal with this situation, avenues which may yet bear fruit.”

Rogan raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Such as how we might have to deal with the humans directly if they were to find out about us and the colony - which brings us right back to exactly where we are now. So, if you don’t mind … ?”

Rogan did mind. “What about that head wound of yours? Has it affected your thinking? Are you even fit to be making vital decisions right now on behalf of all the rest of us?”

Justin pulled off his bandages in frustration; the wound beneath had scabbed over, and didn’t look any great deal worse than any number of common injuries suffered by workers at the colony on a regular basis. “I’m fine, Rogan. I assure you all, my judgment has not been affected in the slightest.”

“So you say. I put forth a motion that Justin be removed as President for dereliction of duty during a time of crisis, and for possible mental impairment pending proper medical evaluation. Seconded?”

“Oh, stop being a nincompoop,” Mr. Ages chastised. “Who would you see as President in his stead. You?”

“Stay out of this, mouse. You’re neither a rat of NIMH nor a citizen of the colony, and you’re certainly not a member of this Council.”

“All technically correct,” Oliver once again affirmed.

Justin heaved an exasperated sigh. “We don’t have time for this, so just to shut you up, I will second the motion myself. Show of paws - who wants to see me removed as President?”

Rogan’s paw went up immediately; Cornelius followed after a moment’s hesitation. Oliver and Bryant seemed to mull the proposal over, but in the end, their paws stayed down. Arthur stood glowering, clearly sharing Justin’s assertion that this was a senseless waste of time, while Neville and Taylor and Prescott didn’t seem to know what to think about any of this.

“The motion is defeated, six to two, with no tie-breaking vote needed from the President,” Justin recited as decorum dictated. “Now then … ”

“I want the human out of here,” Rogan demanded.

Justin folded his arms. “Not happening.”

“Rogan does have a point,” Bryant said. “Which side will he be on in all of this?”

“Your side,” Ian assured the Council, “which is now my side as well, since I have nowhere else to go.”

“Ian stands uniquely qualified to assist us in these negotiations,” Justin maintained. “The Vok even said so himself .. itself … uh, themselves … ”

Rogan scoffed. “You’re taking the counsel of a magic space mushroom now?”

“We are not vegetable in nature,” the Vok impassively intoned from its spot by the shelf wall, “nor are the forces at our command at all magical.”

“Ian knows humans in a way we don’t,” Justin went on. “He knows how to look for things in our negotiations that we might not see … details that might trip us up or box us in, diplomatic traps the humans could set for us.”

Bryant dubiously regarded Ian. “He could give away the farm, with or without meaning to.”

Justin gave a half-snort. “If it’s this farm, the humans are welcome to it.”

Arthur snerked.

“Let be very clear about our present position,” Justin said to all the Council. “Right now the rats of NIMH stand on the brink of catastrophe, and perhaps annihilation, all thanks to Jenner. Because of him, the humans know about us now, and because of him, there have been open hostilities between our two species. The only thing protecting us now is the Vok, and that is not a tenable long-term solution. We must convince the humans not to destroy us, and that will be the tallest of tall orders. Having a human on our side in these talks could be the thing that saves us. We must negotiate a peace that guarantees us safety and security, and if any of you have better ideas on how to achieve that than I do, I’m all ears.”

“Why are we even staying here?” asked Prescott. “Why aren’t we just retreating back to Thorn Valley, and leaving this mess for the humans to sort out?”

“Because they know we’re the ones who attacked them,” Justin replied wearily. “Because they know where the colony is - don’t ask me how, but they know. And now that humans have died, they won’t be able to let it rest. We are a proven danger to them, and our only chance now is to convince them we’re not a danger - that this war was all Jenner’s idea, his fault, and without his influence, we pose no threat whatsoever. That’s the line we’ll have to tread in our talks. It won’t be easy, but it’s our only choice.”

Bryant, who prided himself in his role as the premier threat assessment genius of the colony, jumped in now that the discussion had moved into his area of expertise. “A fine line indeed. They’ll want to know how Jenner was able to make us go along with him … which means telling them about the Stone … which means they’ll find out we don’t have it anymore … which means they’ll know we’re defenseless. I’m not sure we want them to find out all of this.”

“It can’t be helped. For one thing … ” Justin gestured to indicate the alien, “ … they’ll find out from the Vok that we don’t have the Stone anymore. The upside is that the Vok can also testify that Jenner used its power to coerce cooperation, and that these hostilities are something none of the rest of us would ever have contemplated on our own.”

“Then we tell our red-eyed friend over there not to say anything.”

A bemused expression crossed Justin’s face. “You’ve seen what Jenner could do with a single Stone. Our ‘red-eyed friend’ has a couple dozen, integrated right into its physiology. You try telling the Vok what it can and can’t do.”

“We will not speak unless bidden,” the Vok stated, undercutting Justin’s argument and bolstering Bryant’s. “Peace must be found between humans and the rats of NIMH, and this is for you to work out yourselves. We will watch. We will listen. We will not impose, unless all else fails.”

Justin shrugged. “Well then.”

Bryant stepped right up to Ian. “That makes you our secret weapon, for better or worse. Which makes me very uneasy. Can we trust you?”

Ian banished any thoughts of a sardonic quip or comeback, opting instead for the dead earnestness he felt the situation demanded. “Justin’s already said you can, and he’s spent enough time with me that he would know. But don’t forget the time I spent at the colony this summer. Talk to all the patients I treated. Talk to their families. Ask them if they trust me. I’ve already proven myself a friend of the rats of NIMH, as you would know if you stopped to think about it. I have no intention of betraying you now. I can’t, because the colony is my home now too, the only one I have. And I’ll fight for it as hard as any of you would.”

“We don’t have any choice,” Arthur weighed in, practical as ever. “And if Justin trusts him, that’s good enough for me.”

“Agreed,” Mr. Ages concurred with stubborn reluctance.

“Madness,” Rogan muttered to himself, shaking his head. “Sheer madness.”

The sound of a helicopter in the distance found its way into the shed. The rats looked at each other. “I’m guessing only one human aircraft is being allowed that close to us?” Arthur ventured.

“Secretary Hartman arrives,” the Vok affirmed.

“Well, this is it,” Justin said to the Council. “Time to see if we can pull this off - and if we have any future after today at all.”


	31. Sixty of One or Twenty Million of the Other

Secretary of State Vincent Hartman’s helicopter touched down in the road in front of the farmhouse. He was taken quite off guard when all the armed servicemen sent along to serve as his bodyguards collapsed into unconsciousness. He was wondering what to do next when Captain Jamison appeared and escorted him to the equipment shed.

The farmhouse fire had by this time mostly died down to a mere smoky smoldering, as had the blaze out in the fields; whether the Vok had somehow suppressed those flames through its force of will, no one could say.

Justin had hastily rinsed and cleaned his head wound, with Ian’s help, brushing his fur in such a way that the injury no longer called so much attention to itself. If he was about to enter into negotiations with the nation’s seniormost diplomat, he didn’t want to appear as anything but unimpaired and fully in command of his faculties.

At Justin’s insistence, Mr. Ages had been banished to a dark corner of the shelf, behind Jenner’s radio, from where he could follow the negotiations without being seen; all indications were that the humans didn’t know anything about the mice of NIMH, and Justin wanted to keep it that way.

A padded stool was set up in the shed for Hartman’s comfort. The Secretary seated himself, setting his attache case on the floor. His finely-tailored suit and tie gave no indication that he might have had to prepare for this trip on very short notice. His manner, however, suggested considerably more nervousness than he might have preferred to reveal; he fidgeted nervously for a few moments as he looked over the rats before him. “Which … one of you is the leader here?”

“I am,” Justin said.

Hartman seemed to need a moment to decipher the rat’s speech. “And who is Dr. Hargraves?”

“That’s me.” Ian stepped forward.

Hartman gazed at the Vok, standing motionless at the back of the shelf. “I don’t have to ask who the extraterrestrial is.” He turned back to Justin. “I’ve been in constant contact with the President of the United States. He’s called an emergency meeting with his advisors and cabinet to discuss this situation. I have with me a proposal for a ceasefire that was drawn up by the President himself and relayed to me by radio on my way here.”

Something in Hartman’s statement made Ian’s hackles rise slightly, but Justin failed to catch any wording of concern. “Great. Let’s hear it.”

Hartman fished some papers out of his case and put on his glasses. “I need hardly state that this is a most unprecedented situation. The United States has been attacked without provocation, resulting in loss of life to our citizens and property damage. If any foreign power outside our territory had engaged in such actions, it would demand an automatic and commensurate retaliatory strike. However, this aggression has come from both within and without; you originate from inside our borders, and yet you reside outside the human race, and this raises all manner of questions and issues … as I’m sure you can appreciate.” Hartman paused, eyes locked on Justin. “You can understand me, can’t you?”

“Yes, I understand,” Justin replied, speaking slowly and pitching his voice low as Ian had coached him to do, in the event that Hartman proved less adept at comprehending rat speech than Harry or Lucy had been. “We deeply regret the lives lost, and would not have wanted to see this happen at all. Now … just how much has Captain Jamison explained to you about what happened here?”

Hartman seemed surprised to have the rats’ leader asking him a question. “He has told me of the ambush you laid for his forces, and the weapons brought to bear against him … even if he doesn’t fully understand them all.” He glanced over his shoulder through the open shed door at the slag heap that used to be a National Guard army tank.

“That’s … not what I was asking,” Justin clarified. “Has he told you that this aggression was not something any of us wanted, and was forced upon us? That we would never have attacked you, if left to ourselves?”

“Forced upon you? By whom?”

Justin pointed across the work shelf to where Jenner lay comatose at the Vok’s triple feet. “Him.”

“The ... alien?”

Justin shook his head in frustration. “No, not the Vok. The rat lying there.”

Hartman sat trying to make sense of these words, in more ways than one. “But … that is a rat. Just like you. I don’t understand.”

“That rat, named Jenner, unlawfully seized control of our home, placed himself in charge of our community, and coerced us through threats and terror to obey him. This war was solely his idea, his fault, and his responsibility, and he bears the full blame for any damage inflicted upon human society.”

Hartman took off his glasses, then put them back on again. “Then it sounds to me as if he is the one I should be negotiating with. Just who are you again?”

“My name is Justin, Mr. Secretary, and I am the duly elected President of the rats of NIMH. Jenner is a usurper, and a murderer of his fellow rats as well as humans. We are just as much his victims as you are, and have suffered under him as well. Your grievances are with him, not with any of the rest of us.”

Hartman sat in silence for some moments, then said, simply, “No.”

Justin wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. “No?”

“Rats attacked humans. Rats attacked this nation. What you describe sounds like internal politics, and your internal squabbles don’t concern us, or bear upon this situation.”

Justin almost spluttered. “Mr. Secretary, that’s the only thing that bears upon this situation!”

“I’m sorry, what was that? I couldn’t understand what you just said.”

Justin forced himself to draw a deep and calming breath. “Mr. Secretary, if you disregard Jenner’s part in this, you disregard the very reason for this conflict. Surely a seasoned diplomat such as yourself can see that?”

“What I see is a town attacked and put under siege by a hostile force, resulting in an undetermined but apparently not inconsiderable number of casualties on our side. That town remains under siege, even to the point that you have assailed my own escorts. The one you blame for all of this lies senseless and at your mercy, yet the siege continues. What conclusion am I to draw from these very evident facts?”

Justin lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaken by how spectacularly wrong this meeting seemed to be going. “Ian, could you please say something to Secretary Hartman which might allow him to see our side of things more clearly?”

“I’ll do my best.” Ian stepped right up to the edge of the shelf to address Hartman. “Mr. Secretary, you used the term ‘ceasefire’ earlier. I would point out that a ceasefire is exactly what we have at this moment; we have withdrawn from this town, and are prepared to withdraw to our home colony altogether. We are currently engaged in no aggression against you, and expect you to extend us the same courtesy. What we seek here is not a ceasefire, but peace, permanent and lasting.”

“That’s simply not possible, Dr. Hargraves. A ceasefire must come first. And you most certainly are still engaged in hostile activity, or else all those soldiers I saw outside would not be lying senseless along with every other human in this town.”

“Purely a defensive measure at this point, to guarantee our own safety until this all gets straightened out. You tell us now that we’re free to go, and we’ll be on our way, and you’ll get your town and all your soldiers back.”

“Except for the ones killed in action. Dr. Hargraves, do you speak for these rats?”

“I do. I’m a rat of NIMH now, as much as any of the rest of them. But I was human long enough to understand better than they do how these things work. We need official assurances, guarantees, to ensure our safety and security. Give us those, and we’ll be out of your hair forever.”

“You say you know how ‘these things work,’ Doctor, yet your own statements suggest otherwise. You must understand that the President is both aggrieved and angered by the loss of life, and naturally demands some concessions in return. These would be necessary for any peace of the kind you describe.”

“Concessions?” Justin looked from Hartman to the former human. “Ian, what is he talking about?”

“I have a sinking feeling I know exactly what he’s talking about.” Ian addressed Hartman once more. “Mr. Secretary, we have nothing to concede, other than the territory currently under our control. That will have to suffice.”

“That will hardly do, Dr. Hargraves.”

Ian’s expression hardened. “You know where our colony is, in Thorn Valley, don’t you?”

“Yes, we do,” Hartman answered, clearly confident in his ability to hold this threat over the rats as a cudgel in these negotiations.

Ian abruptly turned the tables on him. “Have you tried to attack it yet?”

Hartman sat silently glaring at Ian, suddenly disenchanted in his dealings with this human in rat’s clothes. “I’m here as a diplomat, and in no position to comment on military matters.”

A victorious grin lit Ian’s features. “I’ll take that as a yes. Of course you launched a strike on the colony; you’d have been idiots not to, wiping out our home and leaving us no place to retreat to. How did that work out for you? Not your finest moment, I assume?”

Hartman glowered, saying nothing.

Ian turned to the alien. “Vok?”

“Yes, Dr. Hargraves?” the multivoices sounded, with flashes of ruby accompaniment.

“When the human military attacked Thorn Valley, what happened?”

“We did not allow it. The colony remains safe, and under our protection.”

Ian looked to Hartman. “Do you get it now, Mr. Secretary? You’re not just negotiating with a bunch of rats who’ve grown too big for their britches; you’re negotiating with an extraterrestrial entity as well, and one I suspect may actually be extra-dimensional in nature. So, shall we start over?”

Hartman tried a gamble, an end run around Ian and Justin, addressing the Vok directly. “This conflict doesn’t involve you,” Hartman assured the alien. “You have my word that you will not be harmed.”

“Harmed?” The red Mind Stones embedded in the Vok’s head suddenly glowed twice as brightly as before. “Your words provoke us. We are in no way in your power. And this conflict does involve us, since we have aided the rats of NIMH since before they moved to Thorn Valley and established their present colony.”

Ian fought not to become blindingly smug. “And there you have it, Mr. Secretary. Your move.”

Hartman sat deliberating his next words. His eventual response was as blunt as a club. “We demand prisoners. To guarantee your future good behavior.”

Ian smiled. “Now we’re talking. No.”

Hartman shuffled through his papers. “It was decided, after some considerable debate among the President and his advisors, that sixty of your rats would satisfy these conditions.”

Justin looked to Ian in a panic. “This is a bad joke, right? That would be nearly a quarter of - ”

Ian cut Justin off before he could fully reveal this rather sensitive piece of information about the colony. “What would you do with sixty of us, Mr. Secretary?”

“They would not be killed. They would be sent to their old home at the National Institutes of Mental Health for study.”

“Study!” Ian scoffed. “I know the kinds of study you have in mind, Mr. Secretary, and believe me, it would be far better just to kill them outright!”

“Those are our terms, Dr. Hargraves.”

“Mr. Secretary, you are treating us like animals, and we will not tolerate it! I have lived among these people - yes, I will call them people, since they deserve such consideration - for a number of months, and I can attest that they are at least as intelligent as human beings, if not more so. You proposal is dead on arrival.”

“Let me remind you once again, Dr. Hargraves, that it was the rats who initiated hostilities. They should be grateful that the President has even decided to negotiate at all.”

“If your strike on Thorn Valley is any indication, I’d say you and the President have no choice but to negotiate.” Ian pointed at Jenner. “You get one rat - the one who started this all. Those are our terms, take them or leave them.”

Hartman looked at Jenner. “It will take far more than one rat to atone for the damage that has been done.”

“If one man murders ten others,” Justin interjected in a tone of pleading, “are ten members of his family killed to make up for his crimes?”

“We are not talking about murder,” Hartman stated coldly. “We are talking about a clash between competing species that have come into conflict, and may do so again. If the penalty now is not sufficiently harsh, what is to prevent you from attacking us again, emboldened by what you have gotten away with here?”

Justin shook his head. “I am these … people’s leader. Their safety is my first responsibility. I can give you Jenner, along with a promise that this will never happen again. If you want any more than that, you ask too much.”

Hartman took off his glasses again. “There can be no peace between our two species without a ceasefire first - and I have presented you with the conditions we require for a ceasefire to take effect.”

“We will settle this matter.” The Vok spun away from the wall toward Hartman. “It seems we were wrong to assume peace could be achieved without our involvement.”

Hartman showed abundant discomfort at this prospect. “That will not be necessary.”

“You demand sixty of these rats as a prerequisite for peace. We demand a proportional number of humans for losses suffered by the rats of NIMH.”

“You … you can’t … that’s … ”

The Vok spoke to Justin. “Tell us, how many of your kind were killed by the humans during this fighting?”

“Three or four,” Justin answered. “We’re not entirely sure yet.”

The Vok glowed red and silent, then issued its verdict. “Given the populations of your respective species, Secretary Hartman, we deem it will require the taking of slightly more than twenty million additional human lives to make up for the losses incurred by the rats.”

Hartman turned white as a sheet. “You wouldn’t … would you?”

“We could kill twenty million humans in the time it takes you to blink, and we could do it without leaving this shed.” The Vok brought its five claws together over its head and the Stones in its head glowed threateningly. “That is our decision. We shall do it now.”

“No!” Justin rushed forward. “No, please don’t!”

The Vok paused, poised on the edge of mass annihilation. “Why would you defend the race that would have destroyed you?”

“We don’t want any more killing!” Justin said. “We only want peace.”

The alien lowered its arms. “Secretary, the rats of NIMH have shown you mercy. We shall not take any more human lives. And you shall not take any more of their lives. Is that clear?”

Hartman nodded, shaken and ashen.

“We are not so sure that it is clear to you,” the Vok stated matter-of-factly, “so we will give you added incentive.” The Vok pointed at the door of the shed. As it did so, Lucy stepped through it.

The female scientist handed Hartman an envelope. He took it, looking thoroughly confused. “What is this? And who are you?”

Lucy introduced herself. “I am a researcher at NIMH. And that, Mr. Secretary, is a Superior Court injunction prohibiting anyone from harming any of these rats.”

Hartman pulled a paper out of the envelope and read it over, muttering as he did so. “‘ … part of an invaluable scientific experiment … heightened to human levels of intelligence … deserving consideration as sentient beings … protected under the law … ‘“ He slipped the sheet back into the envelope and returned it to Lucy without saying another word.

“This is in my hands now,” she told him, and went to the shelf. “Hello, Justin, Dr. Hargraves … “ Then she spied the Vok. “Ur … what is that?”

Ian grinned at her. “An extraterrestrial.”

“You’re joking, aren’t … Dr. Hargraves, you just spoke! I understood you! What’s going on here?”

“I’ll fill you in later. What’s important now is that you got that injunction. For a while I was beginning to think nothing could save us.” Ian glanced at the Vok. “Then we were suddenly getting help from just about everywhere.”

The Vok moved away from all the rats and folded its arms underneath its head. “Our work here is done.” Its voices filled the shed. “We are leaving for now, but we will be watching over this world to see that our decrees are not broken.” The creature disappeared in a spiral of colors. “Remember to tell your President that, Secretary Hartman. We will be watching.”

The spiral of light dwindled into nothingness, and the Vok was gone.


	32. Return to NIMH

“Would somebody please tell me what’s going on?” Lucy cried after the Vok had vanished.

“We were just saved by an alien,” Ian replied.

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Lucy, did you by any chance come in one of NIMH’s vans?”

“Yes. It’s parked out in front of the farmhouse. Or what’s left of the farmhouse.”

“Good. Could you please go and bring one of the smaller cages in here?”

“What for?” Lucy asked.

“Jenner.” Ian thumbed at the rat, who was finally coming back to his senses, sitting up but still obviously dazed and not fully aware of all that was going on around him. “He’s the property of U.S. government now. Call him a prisoner of war.” He glanced at Hartman. “The only one they’re going to get.”

Lucy went over to Jenner and playfully jabbed a finger into his stomach. Jenner coughed and rolled over onto his side. “He’s the cause of all this?” she said disappointedly. “He doesn’t look that dangerous. Why, I could carry him in my coat pocket.”

“Trust me, Lucy, even relieved of his sword, you’ll want a cage for that one. He’s a biter, I guarantee it.”

“Okay. Be right back.” She turned to fetch the cage, but Ian called her back.

“Lucy, there’s something else I need to tell you. About Harry … ”

She nodded sadly. “Yes, I know. I passed his car on my way into town, and stopped to have a look. Almost sorry I did.”

“You’ll take care of that? Let his family know, handle his matters at NIMH, and all that?”

“Sure. I’ll do that, Dr. Hargraves.” She paused. “What about your family? Do you want them to … know? About you?”

Ian shook his head. “As far as they’re concerned, I died at NIMH earlier this year. No need to tell them what really happened to me. I don’t see that it would do any of us any good.”

Lucy nodded, then left the shed. Justin came up to Ian, a surprised look on his face. “You have a family? You never told me that.”

“No wife or kids,” Ian clarified. “As for the rest, we weren’t especially close. I was too deeply involved in my researches to keep in touch the way I probably should have, so I think this is most likely for the best.” He turned to Hartman. “Thank you for coming, Mr. Secretary. I knew a peaceful solution could be found. It’s a shame you weren’t the one who found it, though.”

“I think I’ll go outside and wait for my helicopter crew to wake up so I can get out of here. I’ll have a great deal to relate back to the President.” Hartman gathered his brief case and stood up. “I assume they will be waking up soon?”

Ian shrugged. “That’s up to the Vok.” Hartman started to leave. “Oh, Mr. Secretary! Don’t forget to tell the President that the Vok is watching us. Just in case he has any ideas about violating the court injunction Lucy worked so hard to get for us.”

The human gave Ian and Justin one long cold stare, then left. “Well,” Justin chuckled, “I have a feeling we won’t be calling him a friend of the rats of NIMH anytime soon.”

“Oh, I think he’s just a little shaken up by what he saw,” Ian said. “Aren’t you?”

“A little,” Justin admitted. “So, do you really think the humans tried to attack the colony?”

“Not sure,” Ian confessed with a shrug. “I was playing a hunch with that gambit more than anything, but from his reaction, I think they did, and it makes sense that they would. Not sure if it would have been a long-range missile strike, a helicopter rocket barrage, or a bombing run from a plane. They wouldn’t have had time to send troops in, I don’t think. But whatever form it took, the Vok stopped it.”

“Can we really be sure of that?” Justin asked, as several of the other rats of the Council gathered closer around them.

“Don’t you trust the Vok?”

“To be honest, I found some of its decisions … questionable. I mean, sending Jenner to get the Stone from us? And waiting until we were actually at war with the humans to intercede? Some of it makes no sense.”

Ian shrugged again. “The Vok moves in mysterious ways? But we’d better hope it was genuine about watching over us, and protecting us, because I’m not sure where we’d be if that protection is ever withdrawn.”

“Either way,” Justin said, “I want to get back to the colony as soon as possible, and not just to make sure the human attack failed. I’m still worried about the effects of that storm, and whether we suffered any flood damage. As for you, I suppose you’ll be going back with Lucy to finish having the injections?”

“No, I won’t.”

Justin looked at Ian, taken aback. “Why not?”

“Something known in the human world as ‘fallen rider syndrome.’ If you’re learning how to ride a horse and you fall off, you’re supposed to get right back on. If you don’t, there’s a chance for fear to take hold, and you may never get back on a horse again.”

“And you’ve got that feeling about the shots?”

Ian nodded. “Now that I know how terribly they hurt, I’ll never willingly subject myself to them again. The three sets I’ve had will have to do me for the rest of my life.”

“Wait,” Bryant cut in, having listened in on their conversation. “You were at NIMH? Having the treatments? Our treatments? When was this?”

“After I snuck out of Thorn Valley when Jenner took over,” Ian replied.

“So Jenner was right!” Rogan pounced. “You were working with the humans! You were the one who told them where the colony was!”

“It wasn’t Ian,” Justin snapped.

“And how would you know?” Rogan challenged.

“Because I was with Ian every moment of his time at NIMH.”

The other Council rats and Mr. Ages all gaped at this. “You … you went back to NIMH?” Arthur asked, flabbergasted.

“I did - and not just to keep an eye on Ian, to make sure he didn’t divulge sensitive information I didn’t want the humans to learn. In case you’d forgotten, one of his human friends just showed up with a court order - from a human court - granting us protection under their laws. That never would have happened if Ian and I hadn’t used his connections at NIMH to get that for us.”

“I’m … not sure how to feel about this, Justin,” Arthur admitted.

“I’m not sure how it fits in with our own laws,” Oliver put in.

“And I’m not sure it didn’t compromise the security of the colony,” Bryant added.

“You have Jenner to thank for all of this,” Justin reminded them. “He was the one who exposed us to the humans. Ian and I were the ones left scrambling to salvage the situation however we could - and the ones who won us a reprieve we never could have secured otherwise. Things are different now; things will always be different now. We can never go back to our days of hiding, desperately hoping the humans never discover us. We can only go forward, with this as our new reality, and make the best of it that we can.”

This eloquent assertion satisfied most of the Council - but not Rogan. “I move that Justin be removed as President for treason, and consorting with the humans who would have destroyed us.”

It was Arthur who crushed Rogan before anyone else could speak. “This isn’t even a convened Council session,” he spat at the contrarian rat, “so shut it and stop being a pain.”

Across the shelf, Jenner struggled once again into a groggy sitting position. “Speaking of big pains … ” Ian ambled over to Jenner and stood staring down at him. “Wake up! You’re going on a little trip!”

“Wha … “ Jenner’s half-open lids widened at the sight of Lucy entering the shed with the cage in her hands. He rose to flee, but Clancy had joined them, and now held Jenner in a firm grip. “Let go of me!”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Clancy tightened his grip, so that Jenner’s feeble attempts to pull away were to no avail. Leaning to deliver a self-satisfied snarl into his prisoner’s ear, the acting Guard Captain taunted, “This is for Brutus!”

Lucy set the cage down on the shelf and opened its top. “In you go, big boy.” She snatched Jenner up away from Clancy and deposited him into the cage, locking the lid securely in place. “That ought to hold him.”

Jenner pressed himself against the steel mesh of the cage. “Justin, you can’t let them take me back to NIMH! I beg you, tell her to let me out!”

“You had your way with the humans,” Justin said, “so now it’s time for the humans to have their way with you.”

Jenner dropped to his knees. “Justin, take your sword and kill me! You cannot be so cruel as to send me back to the tortures of NIMH. Have mercy, and kill me now!”

“Don’t tempt me!”

Jenner shook at the cage’s wire meshing. “I killed your wife! You must want to kill me now. Here I am! Run me through!”

Justin closed his eyes and said softly, “No.”

Ian waved his arms. “Lucy, get him out of here!”

Jenner threw himself at the side of the cage as it was picked up and carried to the door. “Damn you, Justin! Damn you!”

Lucy paused at the entrance to the shed. “By the way,” she said over Jenner’s ravings, “Secretary Hartman’s guards and helicopter crew are coming around. Just thought you’d like to know.”

Justin looked to Ian. “Which probably means all the town’s humans are waking up.”

“Probably. And our cue to get our tails out of here, and head back to the colony.”

“We won’t be wasting any time over that,” Justin agreed. “Although there is one stop I want to make on our way back to Thorn Valley. Ian, Mr. Ages, perhaps you’d care to join me?”


	33. A Final Farewell

“So, are we ever going to see Thorn Valley?”

It was Teresa who’d asked the question, but all four of the Brisby siblings sat gazing expectantly at Justin, each one more eager for the answer than the next.

It was crowded in the central room of the mice’s hovel, with Ian and Mr. Ages joining in this gathering. Justin had insisted they stay indoors, in case the humans had started to search around the now-abandoned Fitzgibbon farm for any lingering rats who might be dawdling in their strategic withdrawal - just as Ian and Justin were doing now.

The rat President sighed sadly. “I’m afraid it may be too late for that. We waited too long to invite you … although maybe that turned out to be for the best. You wouldn’t have wanted to be there when Jenner returned and took over, believe me.”

“Jenner only came back this summer,” Martin brusquely pointed out. “It’s been four years. All that time … ”

“I know,” Justin acknowledged. “I have been negligent in regard to you, and I cannot apologize deeply enough. But the simple truth is, the humans know about Thorn Valley now, and may try to act against us, in spite of the agreement we’ve worked out between us. It may not be safe for you to be there now.”

Justin and Ian and Mr. Ages had decided to leave out any mention of the Vok in what they told the Brisbys; the rest was incredible enough as it was.

“But,” Cynthia countered, “it might not be safe for you, either.”

“We know,” said Justin, “but we have no choice but to accept that risk. Thorn Valley is our home, and we’ve put too much work into it to abandon it now, and we’ve nowhere else to go in any event. The humans will be watching us very closely, even if they don’t attack us, and they’ll see if we try to relocate somewhere else. We’ll be living with a sword dangling over our heads, but at least we’ll be living, in the home we built for ourselves.”

He hesitated before continuing, “And on that subject, I don’t know how safe it is for you here. The human government will be taking over the farm, and perhaps demolishing it. They might try to fumigate or sterilize all the land around it, just to make sure no rats of NIMH stay behind to spy on them.”

“But, we’re not on the farm,” Martin argued. “We’re out here on the edge of the forest.”

“But still on the outskirts of the farm,” Mr. Ages said in support of Justin. “I’m going to have to abandon my home there as a result of all this, and trust me, that grates on me far more than I can possibly express. I won’t ever be able to go back there … and none of you can ever go back to your winter home either.”

The four mice stood aghast and crestfallen at this news. “But,” Timmy complained, “we have so much of our stuff there!”

“Which is why I’ve assigned two teams of rats to retrieve some of your belongings,” Justin revealed. “One is at Ages’ right now, salvaging what they can of his books and apparatus, and the other is at your cinder block home, rescuing some of your treasured belongings. I realize it won’t be easy, but you and Mr. Ages will just have to find new places for yourselves farther afield from the farm. It’s the only way. In all our negotiations with the humans, never once did the subject of mice come up. I don’t believe they know about you at all, or are likely to come looking for you, and we must do all we can to keep it that way. As far as they’re concerned, only the rats made it out of NIMH, only the rats attacked them, and only the rats live in this area. The mice of NIMH must remain a secret that they never learn. It’s too late for us, but it’s not too late for you. Anonymity is your greatest advantage now, and if we have been remiss in our obligations toward you up until now, at least in this we can help you.”

“So,” Teresa asked, “when do we have to leave?”

“Right now, if you can.” Justin glanced out their window. “The retrieval teams know to rendezvous here once they’ve gathered up all they can reasonably carry, and we can leave telltales letting them know which way you’ve gone, so that they can follow along. It might not be ideal, but I’m afraid it’s the best we could manage on such short notice.”

“We’re being turned out of our own homes,” Martin sourly observed. “If this is your idea of help, maybe it was for the best that you never showed up before now.”

Justin gave Martin an equally sour look in return. “Blame Jenner, for starting a war with the humans, and blame the humans, for wanting to destroy us. We’re only working with what we’ve been given.”

“Justin’s right,” Ages told Martin and the other mice. “No use complaining over what’s been done and can’t be undone. We need new homes, so let’s go start looking for them!”

Spurred on by this double-teamed enjoinder, the Brisby siblings swept through their abode, gathering up and packing all they felt they could carry. “Will we be able to come back here?” Cynthia wondered.

“It will be risky,” Justin replied. “Perhaps, but you would have to be very careful.”

“In that case,” Teresa said decisively, “there’s one thing we need to do before we leave … ”

With their bulging travel packs slung over their shoulders, Martin, Teresa, Cynthia and Timothy gathered around the unobtrusive grave dug in between another root fork of the same tree, solemnly paying their final respects to their mother. “It doesn’t feel right,” Martin muttered, “leaving her behind like this.”

“She’d want you to be safe,” Justin said from beyond their little circle, “and I think maybe she’s counting on me now to make sure you are.”

Martin shot the rat an acerbic glance and looked like he was about to say something equally cutting, but then his expression softened into one of acceptance and he returned his gaze to the burial plot.

Soon afterward, the five mice and two rats set out along the banks of the brook, striking deeper into the forest and away from the farm, leaving behind a note to let retrieval teams know which way to go. Justin and even Ian helped carry some of their belongings. The evening was fair, cool as was the norm for early autumn but not uncomfortably so, with no sign of rain. Birds twittered and late insects chirruped and chirred, lending a natural peace to the scene that belied the conflict seen earlier that day just a short distance away.

Timothy glanced back at Ian, bringing up the rear along with Mr. Ages. “Is he gonna be all right?” he asked Justin. “He seems to get older every time we meet him.”

“He’s been through a lot. But he was a big help to us, and we all owe him a great deal. He’s one reason we have a colony to go back to at all.”

“Are we ever going to see you again?” Teresa asked, echoing her similar inquiry from their last parting of ways.

Justin was a long time in answering. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. This is a totally new and different time for us, now that the humans know about Thorn Valley. It’s impossible to say where things go from here. Maybe everything will be okay, and maybe it won’t. We’ll simply have to wait and see what the future holds. The important thing, as far as you’re concerned, is to see to yourselves, and secure your own safety in these woods. Then, maybe, someday … ”

Behind Justin and the Brisbys, Ian and Ages struggled along with their own lighter burdens. The mouse looked up at the rat.

“So … human, huh?”

“Ayup.”

“I’d say I never would have guessed, but in time, I think I might have.”

“Then my gift for keeping secrets must be failing me.”

“At least you still have a gift for negotiation. And I must say I was impressed by your performance back there. I don’t think Justin himself on his best day could have faced down Hartman the way you did.”

“Thanks.”

“So, what’s it like, being a human in a rat’s body?”

Ian smirked. “At least I didn’t use a female rat for my test subject.”

“You can never be serious about anything, can you?”

“Beats being grumpy all the time.”

“Oh, ha ha.”

“As to your question … ” Ian mulled over his response before continuing. “There are about a thousand different ways I could answer that. Tell ya what: If you ever do make it to Thorn Valley for a visit, we’ll light a nice fire, pour ourselves some drinks, and I’ll take a day and a night giving you the full answer that question deserves.”

“Fair enough. Although I should warn you now, I don’t drink.”

“Really? Then how do you manage to stand your own company?”

“On second thought, maybe I’ll take a pass on your offer.”

Chuckling, the old mouse scientist and former human scientist followed the others deeper into the evening forest, and into their new lives.


	34. Epilogue

“So that’s how they found us.”

Ian stood with Justin on the North Hill, overlooking the colony and its environs. A week had passed since the rats’ return to Thorn Valley, and while much had gotten sorted out during that time, much else remained up in the air or open to speculation.

“That seems to be the consensus,” Justin affirmed with a nod. He and Ian regarded the line of waterwheels stretching across the stream from bank to bank, plainly turning in the current for all to see. The power-generating infrastructure had withstood the deluge of tropical storm Giselle intact, but the same could not be said for the beaver dam camouflage that typically obscured it, those twigs and branches swept away by the high, swift waters to reveal the far more advanced technology lurking beneath. And a series of linked water-turned pumps would have been rather hard to miss by human eyes surveilling the valley for signs of intelligent rats.

“At least it puts to bed the accusations that you were the one who told the humans about Thorn Valley,” Justin went on.

“Or that you did,” Ian added, referencing a particularly pernicious rumor which had likely started with Rogan, although that could hardly be proven. “Although I fear such aspersions may still linger. That’s what’s so insidious about those kinds of accusations: once made, they tend to take on a life of their own, and can be very tough to refute entirely.”

Justin’s snout wrinkled in distaste at this political subject. “At least we rats of NIMH are very good at critical thinking, as a whole, so once we’ve all had some time to consider this fully, I’m confident the colony will see through such gossip.”

“Which hasn’t, I’ve noted, kept you from calling for a new election next month,” Ian observed.

Justin sighed. “Questions have been raised, and they must be addressed. Rogan’s assertions that I was derelict in my duties by running off to NIMH with you instead of staying on the farm to confront Jenner have gained some traction, with a dissatisfied minority if not the majority. This way, they get to air their grievances with their votes, and the rats of the colony get to exercise democracy once more.”

“And if you lose?”

“I … don’t see that happening. Although it almost certainly won’t be the unanimous victory I enjoyed four years ago. If I lose, I step aside and let the will of the majority stand, and work with the new President as best I can. I’ll not deny that life was a lot simpler when I didn’t have the responsibilities of the entire colony resting on my shoulders every minute of every day, and sometimes I miss those times.”

“I think the colony would miss you if you were no longer in the President’s chair, and would quickly come to regret their choice, no matter who they picked to replace you.”

“Thank you for that vote of confidence,” Justin acknowledged with a grateful nod, “although if Rogan is counting on positioning himself as my successor, he might find himself facing an uphill battle, and not just from me. These days, Brutus stands as much chance of winning the Presidency as he does.”

“Probably a much greater chance, I would say.” Ian surveyed the terrain around the colony’s entry dome. When the returning rats had come upon the scene, they’d despaired that the floodwaters had washed away the autumn harvest entirely, since not a single crop plant was to be seen anywhere. Only later did the truth of the situation become clear.

“Brutus surprised me, doing such a good job of taking charge in your absence,” Ian admitted. “The way he had the females and children tend the fields while all the males were away with Jenner, and harvest as many of the crops as they could when they realized a horrific storm was on the way … that was some astute thinking on his part.”

“Yes, I know,” Justin agreed. “Jenner would have let the crops fail. Brutus saved us from a very hard winter. He’s a hero, as much as any of us were in all of this.”

“At least he didn’t have a flood to contend with. I’m rather amazed the waters didn’t get into the colony. You really must have designed the place better than I gave you credit for.”

“Arthur deserves most of the accolades for that. We truly did snatch victory from the jaws of disaster. And this episode gives us greater confidence for the future as well; if we could weather a tropical storm without getting flooded out, we know we can withstand almost anything nature’s likely to throw at us.”

“It’s more what the humans might throw at us that worries me.” Ian glanced around the valley. “Whatever they tried to hit us with that the Vok stopped, it doesn’t seem to have reached here at all. None of those who were here at the time noticed anything that could have been a military strike. Knowing our alien protector, I’m guessing the strike was prevented before it was even launched.”

“But you think they might still try to attack us?” Justin asked. “What about the court order Lucy got for us?”

“If they violate it, what recourse would we have? I can’t exactly see any of us filing a lawsuit and going to court to argue our case.”

“You don’t sound like you have very much faith in your fellow humans.”

Ian snorted. “I was human long enough to become a good judge of such things.”

“Much as I hate to say it, I think Bryant and some of the others would share your rather cynical assessment. I suppose we’ll just have to rely on the Vok to protect us.” Justin looked to his companion. “How are you feeling these days, Ian? I must say, you seem to be getting stronger. I think those treatments are finally starting to show some positive results.”

“I do feel like I have more energy lately. Even if I only received part of the treatment, maybe it was enough.” Ian ran a forepaw along his gray coat, which had in recent days started to turn more a vibrant silver. “No way of telling how effective those shots were, but I’ll take however many extra days they’ve given me.”

“Now that it appears you might be sticking around for a while, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you. I plan on naming you to an honorary seat on the Council.”

Ian showed legitimate surprise at this. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. The very conversation we’re having now shows how much you have to offer - a human perspective and point of view that we’d otherwise lack, and which will prove especially useful in matters regarding our future relations with the humans, now that they know about us.”

“Heh. Rogan will be thrilled.”

“Fortunately for all of us, Rogan doesn’t have veto power over such Presidential proposals, and I foresee no great obstacles in winning a simple majority for approval. Even the members who remain largely suspicious of you might prefer to have you attending Council sessions where they can keep a closer eye on you.”

“Well, now I guess it’s my turn to thank you for the vote of confidence. I’ll be happy to sit in on the Council, to contribute however I can - my patient load permitting, of course.”

“Of course. So, how are you settling back into your medical duties?”

“To be honest, things have been rather slow in that regard - which has worked out, considering my own recovery that I’ve needed. But now that my big secret is out, I worry that many in the colony might shun me altogether for healthcare, and seek out Barnes and Patty instead. I’ll definitely have some work to do in that area.”

“It’s to be expected, I suppose,” Justin somberly conceded. “They just need to get to know you better … or know you better all over again, as the case may be. I was talking to Patricia yesterday, and she shared something with me.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I’d gone to her to offer my condolences over her father, since I obviously never had a chance to do so before Jenner exiled me. Poor Hugo seems to have gotten a bit lost in the midst of everything else that was happening. But she told me that you were the only one in the colony, other than Barnes, to seek her out and tell her how sorry you were, even though you hadn’t really been practicing much by that time and weren’t working with her regularly anymore. She appreciated that gesture, and it really meant a lot to her.”

“Huh. Seemed like the natural thing to do. I did get to know her fairly well during our internship together under Barnes, and I knew Hugo pretty well too, with all the time we spent together down in the workshops slapping together that electric crossbow. But I’m glad she took it as it was meant.”

“Considering how busy you must have been planning your escape around that time, it was very thoughtful of you to have paid her that consideration. As a test of your character, I’d say you passed with flying colors.”

“It was nuts around here, no denying that, with Jenner as President and you banished and … well … ”

“Yes. We all lost something in that debacle.”

“Some of us more than others. How are you doing, Justin?”

The rat President gazed off toward the colony cemetery, located just outside the entry dome. “Everyone keeps asking me that. And while I appreciate the concern, it’s not like I don’t have a thousand things to keep my paws full and my mind occupied.”

“Which hasn’t really given you the time to properly mourn. You were thrown right into the maelstrom along with the rest of us, with no opportunity to grieve.”

“I know where her grave is … and I’ll be visiting it often. Trust me, Ian, I know what I have to do to get through this.”

Ian considered this, then nodded. “Just never forget that you have a lot of support here, whenever you need it.”

“I won’t.”

As they walked from the North Hill back toward the colony, Justin mused on the human world they’d left behind - and the old friends they’d left behind as well. “At least we were able to find suitable new homes for Mr. Ages and the Brisbys deeper in the woods, and help them get set up in their new abodes before returning to Thorn Valley.”

“Suitable? I’d say that oak hollow we scouted up for the Brisbys puts to shame their old hovel … although Ages undoubtedly took a step down, trading his thresher lab for that abandoned burrow we found for him.”

“I’m just worried about too many of his experiments blowing up and attracting the wrong kind of attention, even as far into the forest as he’s relocated. The humans will be looking for that sort of thing now, and aren’t likely to ignore it.”

“What that old tinkerer gets up to is his own business. His new home’s far enough from the Brisbys’ that if he gives himself away, he’ll not drag them into it with him. And even if you did turn them out of their old homes, I’d say they still owe you for looking out for them the way you did, and dispatching those teams to bring along so many of their belongings. That was a big chance you took, and should make it a lot easier for them.”

“It’s the least I could do. Jonathan was one of us, and we owe those mice the best we can give them. I just hope they’ll be all right.”

“NIMH mice? I wouldn’t worry too much about them, Justin. If they’re half as resourceful as you rats are, they might get out of this whole thing better than we will.”

“You’re probably right.” Justin gazed at the fields around them as they walked. “You know, it was always Nicodemus’s dream that we have actual farming, with plows and rows and proper irrigation and all that. When we got to Thorn Valley, we all decided that would be too obvious, and would draw undue attention to ourselves. But now that we don’t have to hide from the humans anymore, why not give it a try? It would make things a lot easier, and increase our yields without having to go so far afield. Rogan and Caesar have already expressed an interest in doing exactly that for our next planting season, and we could even start the irrigation ditches right away, before winter. What do you think?”

“Like you said, we’re not hiding anymore, so why not?”

They ambled on in silence for some time, skirting the rats’ cemetery. Justin glanced toward the fresh graves. “Too many new plots there,” he murmured, referring not only to Hugo and Isabella but also to those killed at the farmhouse. “Jenner’s foul legacy, never to be forgotten. Ian, what do you suppose will happen to Jenner at NIMH?”

Ian shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Will they kill him?”

“Eventually,” Ian replied. “But first they’ll want to study him. And to do that, they’ll subject him to experiments that would make the treatments you and I received look pleasurable by comparison. Then, when they’re done with him, they’ll probably stick him in a jar of formaldehyde and stash him away on some dusty old shelf. He has to be preserved for future study, you know.”

“Maybe I should have killed him like he wanted me to.”

“Justin! After all he did to you, don’t tell me you actually feel pity for him?”

“Not at all,” said Justin. “It’s just that, as long as I know he may still be alive, I’ll always harbor a fear in the back of my mind that he may return, and bring terror to our lives once again.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Ian assured him. “Jenner’s gone, and he won’t be coming back.”

“I hope you’re right.” Rounding the colony dome, they found Arthur consulting with some of his building crew, framing the roof of the structure with their paws and referring to various diagrams. “What’s up, Arthur?”

“Well, now that we don’t have to keep our heads down, there’s a certain project I’ve long wanted to try. I always thought it made no sense to have no way of looking out of the colony at the surrounding valley without actually leaving this entryway. So, why not a tower?”

“A tower?” Justin echoed.

“Sure. I figured maybe three or four feet tall, sticking right up out of the top of the entry dome. It would give us a panoramic three hundred and sixty degree view of the valley, and lookouts could get up to it without actually having to go outside. We could use it year round, and know what’s going on in the valley at all times.”

Justin smiled. “Sounds like you’ve already got it all figured out, and maybe drafted out as well, to judge by your architectural plans there, so I doubt we’ll be stopping you. Bring it up at the next Council session, and if there are no serious objections, we’ll put it to a vote and green-light it.”

“Good, good. And after that, we can get a start on the windmills … although those will probably have to wait until spring.”

Justin’s eyebrows rose. “Windmills?”

“Sure. We get some nice breezes blowing through here; it’d be a waste not to harness that potential. Now that we’ve got the entire surface to work with, I’ve got big plans. Big big plans!”

“It would seem you do. Looks like we’ll have a lot to discuss at our next Council. A perfect way for you to get your feet wet, Ian.”

Arthur glanced at the former human. “Wait - he’s on the Council now? Since when?”

“I’ll be nominating him for an honorary seat - special advisor on human affairs.”

Arthur chewed on this for a few moments in his usual no-nonsense way, then grinned and extended a paw. “Welcome to the madness, Ian. Prepare yourself for your share of fits, because those Council shenanigans can drive you to pure frustration!”

Ian took Arthur’s paw, and the two shook warmly. “So, I take it I’ve got your vote?”

“That you do. If Justin wants you on the Council, then I do too. Sometimes apple carts need to be upset, and I imagine you’ll be very good at that.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Leaving Arthur to his work, Ian and Justin headed back down into the colony. As they passed from sunshine to shadow and the gloom of indoors enclosed them, Justin ruminated on what he’d just been told. “Arthur’s right. We keep too much to ourselves down here, aside from the field workers and the guards. A greater window on the world might be just what we need.”

“Especially now that the world has a greater window on us.”

“An interesting way of looking at it. Recent events have thrust us into a dangerous and uncertain period of our existence, but presented us with new opportunities as well. Arthur sees that; now to get the rest of us to see it as well.”

Ian smiled. “Big big plans, eh?”

Justin returned the smile knowingly. “We’re the rats of NIMH. Planning big is part of who we are. One could almost say it’s - ”

“Don’t say it,” Ian warned, mortified by the incipient bad pun.

“In our genes,” Justin finished with a satisfied smirk.

“That was bad. That was very bad.”

“Just trying to make you feel at home.”

“In that case, you have succeeded, because I am starting to feel quite at home here.” Ian glanced around as they descended farther along the spiral of the central corridor, where the simple clay walls of the entry dome gave way to the more substantial construction of the colony proper, and all the unseen wonders that lay below. “Very, very much at home.”


End file.
